The Demo Day 2022 took place on the 23rd of July at Recycle Up! Hub in Kumasi while Guests also had the opportunity to join online. It was an exciting exchange between already established and experienced partners who applied their knowledge and wisdom and the innovative and determined incubatees. The theme of the day was Green Economy: The Role of Entrepreneurs.
We featured Cohort 3 incubatees; Ariella Myco Integrated, Biogas Innov, Waste Advantage Afric, Waste ME GH, UpcycleComfort, F&W Env. Solution and Waste Cure who completed 6 months of intensive business training at Recycle Up! Ghana, and 30 trained women from rural communities in the Agona district, doing amazing work in the Green Entrepreneurship space. They had the chance to present their outstanding business projects and future plans to an interested audience and important investors with critical feedback. The vibrant young entrepreneurs introduced their businesses to the audience with many insights about their growth journey. Our mission is to help young people develop local waste solutions to achieve a circular economy in Ghana.
Mr. Charles Ojei was one of the keynote speakers who shared his great expertise in Circular Economy and Green Entrepreneurship. Mr. Ojei acknowledged that waste is a global problem with a bright light to turn the tide. He encouraged the entrepreneurs to implement strategies to reach their goals and motivated them to stay on track so their ‘’vision becomes clearer’’.
After receiving much appreciation from MCE Ejisu who showed lots of gratitude to the vision and mission of Recycle Up Ghana, instructed the audience to support the good work and also, play in tune by extending the recycling message to their communities.
In the second half of the event, the first entrepreneur was Abubakar Wasila from F&W Environmental Solution whose aim is to turn plastic waste into school bags. Wasila illustrated the potential customers and highlighted the competitive advantage of the bag, such as the revenue model. A dose of love was also given to the start-up.
Represented by another young female startup incubatee was Recycle Me Ghana. The start-up’s mission is to recycle PET bottles. PET bottles are shredded into PET flakes and sold to other Recycle companies who turn the flakes into bricks, hair, clothing and many other things.
Biogas Innov. improves biogas production by designing an integrated pretreatment chamber. The system prevents communities from depending on wood as fuel for cooking and offers biogas as an alternative. The confident young entrepreneurs made it clear that Biogas Innov are in need of technical support, in depth training and financial support.
Last but not the least was Upcycle Comforts whose effort is to reuse plastic waste as stuffing for pillows and cushions. ‘’we got your back’’ is the slogan and the motivation of the company which is in relation to SDG 3. The team consists of members with a background in fashion, IT and business management. Their request is technical advice and funding.
Towards the end of the event, dignitary speakers shared their perspective with the audience. Adowa Coleman, Snr. Sustainability Manager at DOW, one of the brilliant speakers, talked about the green economy and how it is mostly linked to wealth and job creation. Besides, waste management needs to be adjusted from region to region and context should be considered. Adwoa also touched on personal responsibility and the need for businesses to look into the future and prepare for a Green Economy sustainability. ‘’A green economy is not made to harm anything that already exists, a green economy should make things better’’
Demo Day22 icing was the announcement of Winners of the Business Pitching! Congratulations to our 3 Winners, Waste Advantage Afric, Upcycle Comforts, and Biogas Innov who were awarded with cash prizes to support their business growth.
With passion, teamwork, vision of a bright future, hours of hard work, innovative thinking, sweat and sometimes a few tears, a great foundation has now been laid for these great businesses. We’re thrilled to be part of their growth journey!
Our special thanks to our partners, keynote speakers, Judges and dignitaries; Health Unit Ejisu Metro, Adwoa Coleman, Charles Ojei, MCE Ejisu, Calbank KNUST Manager, Director, Business Advisory Centre, BAC Head, Agona District, CSIR, and to all volunteers. Thank you for braving up!
We can’t wait for cohort4 to launch their amazing business ideas.
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