Help 7 social enterprises create value from waste

On the 24th of June, the stage was set for an exciting and inspiring Demo Day, where six passionate and forward-thinking entrepreneurs pitched their groundbreaking ideas to a captivated audience. Demo day is an exciting annual event organized by Recycle Up! Ghana where passionate entrepreneurs showcase their innovative solutions and ideas for a more sustainable future. It also spotlights environmentally conscious business ideas and startups with the intention to inspire, empower, and support the next generation of sustainable leaders as they work towards building a greener and more resilient Ghana. Each entrepreneur brought their unique vision for a sustainable future, focusing on innovative solutions to address various environmental challenges.

Ehmblehm Farms emerged as the winner of the Demo Day, capturing the hearts of the judges and the audience alike. Their ingenious concept revolves around using animal waste from their farms to produce maggots for organic fertilizer. This environmentally-friendly approach not only reduces waste but also offers a valuable resource for enhancing agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner.

Grace Hills Farms claimed the second spot with their commendable initiative of utilizing animal waste to produce fertilizer. Similar to Ehmblehm Farms, they too understand the potential of harnessing organic resources to enhance agricultural practices, reducing reliance on chemical-based fertilizers that harm the environment.

Taking the third place was Ni-ima Skincare, a venture that prioritizes the use of natural and organic products for safe and effective skincare solutions. In a world whereharmful chemicals and plastic packaging dominate the beauty industry, Ni-ima Skincare stands out as a beacon of hope, promoting eco-friendly alternatives for personal care routines.

Verde Waste, another remarkable participant, showcased a mobile app that facilitates the connection between recyclers and informal waste pickers. By leveraging technology, Verde Waste aims to optimize waste management and contribute to a more efficient and circular economy, where waste is regarded as a valuable resource rather than a burden on the environment.

Everything Rice, with their belief in repurposing broken rice for other rice meals, impressed the audience with their dedication to reducing post-harvest losses. By promoting the consumption of broken rice in various culinary applications, they are tackling food waste while making nutritious food accessible to a broader population.

Nullwood Fabrications also demonstrated their commitment to sustainability by actively engaging with the judges and seeking valuable feedback. While their specific project details were not yet disclosed, their proactive approach to refining their ideas indicates a dedication to finding an eco-friendly solution to a problem they are passionate about.

The focus on developing technical solutions for waste utilisation underlines the importance of innovation and technology in fostering sustainable practices and building a more resilient future.

The Demo Day served as a platform to showcase the power of entrepreneurship in driving positive change for the environment. Each participant highlighted how they are contributing to a greener and more sustainable world through their creative ideas and practical solutions.

As the audience cheered for the winners and applauded the efforts of all the entrepreneurs, it became evident that sustainable innovation and responsible business practices have the potential to make a lasting impact on the planet. By supporting and encouraging such initiatives, we can collectively work towards a more sustainable and harmonious future for generations to come.

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STARTUP WEEKEND 

The Startup Weekend (SUW); is a two-day business and entrepreneurial training to equip identified startups with skills in business creation and management, networking, and pitching. It also presents opportunities for startups with similar business ideas to come together as teams to create sustainable businesses and climaxed with the selection of the best three (3) business ideas pitched at the end of the program to automatically onboard to the incubation program. This year’s Startup Weekend commenced on the Friday,18th and ended on the Saturday, 19th of November. 

Significantly, this year’s SUW started with an online pre-session on Circular Economy, Climate Resilience and Adaptation This was to open to selected startups to our expectations of their business ideas and help them fine-tune their ideas for the SUW. Startups were as well hinted on the next line of action towards the SUW and incubator program. The program climaxed with a pitch session where startups used their developed pitch decks to pitch to judges at the event. Judges gave comments on their pitch decks to help improve upon their business ideas. Pitches were scored by the judges and 3 businesses (Eco-Clean Ghana, Everything Rice and Ehmblehm Farms) with the highest scores were adjudged winners with an automatic opportunity to be rolled on to the next incubation program. A total of 25 startups including 6 females benefitted from the Startup Weekend program.

INCUBATION PROGRAM RECRUITMENT AND COMMENCEMENT 

The incubation program was launched on the 19th of November 2022, which signified the application process opened to the public for a period of a week. The process was very competitive in nature but in the end, an additional 7 applicants were selected for the Cohort 4 of the incubation program. 

Cohort 4 of the incubation program commenced on the 15th of December 2022. The session was to introduce the program to the selected incubatees and to lay down the structure of the incubation as well as the rules and regulations. The call commenced with an introduction session where both the panels and the incubatees introduced themselves. Nine (9) incubatees were online representing (9) business teams. The business teams were then given the contract of the incubation program and the handbook for the incubation program to guide their journey through the Recycle Up Ghana Incubation. 

GOAL SETTING SESSION

On the 25th of January 2023, the entrepreneurs were introduced to the Objective Key Results (OKRs) development and how to develop SMART key goals for their teams. The Incubatees were briefed on the meaning of SMART Goals and the various components. Incubatees were made to understand that a SMART goal should have the following components: S- Specific, M- Measurable, A- Ambitious, R- Realistic and T- Time Bound. The entrepreneurs were further introduced to the Objective Key Results (OKRs) framework and why it is important for entrepreneurs. During this session, the entrepreneurs were taken through the basic guidelines in setting objectives as well as key results for the objectives. Entrepreneurs were then taken through the best practices in setting OKRs.

IDEA VALIDATION SESSION 

On February 2nd, 3rd, and 16th 2023, the Idea validation segment of the six-month incubation session commenced, the series of training sessions were centered on helping the entrepreneurs validate their various business ideas. The session was divided into Four main parts that is: Root Cause Analysis, Problem-Solution Fit, Customer Persona, and Empathy Map and finally the Design Thinking session. The root cause analysis sought to aid the entrepreneurs to better understand the problem they are trying to solve. The Problem solution fit was aimed at making sure that the solution that they have made for the problem is needed and also the right intervention for the particular problem, The customer persona and empathy map also sought to allow the entrepreneurs to properly map out their customers, the needs and address their pain points. The design thinking session delved into making the entrepreneurs create a user centric solution that empathizes with the end user from the beginning of the product idea to the prototyping and testing phase. The three day session was an in-house session which sought at fostering cohesion with the trainers and also with deliverables . In attendance were 10 business teams with four being represented by females and 6 males.

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