3 local agritech start-ups participate in acceleration programme

Sixteen startups, drawn from Africa, the United States of America, Portugal and Brazil have been selected to participate in the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University’s (UM6) Impulse Acceleration Programme in Morocco, Switzerland and the USA.

The programme has three Ghanaian Agritech start-ups, Esoko, SAYeTECH and Trotro Tractor, selected among 350 applications received after the Impulse African roadshow that made a stop in Accra last August.

A statement issued by OCP Africa, organisers of the Impulse Accelerated Programme, said the programme proposes a wide variety of startups with innovative products and services that have the potential to reinforce the Moroccan agricultural input manufacturer OCP Group’s capabilities to contribute to global food security.

The second and third boot camps of the programme are ongoing in Benguerir and Lausanne in Morocco.

They consist of masterclasses, demonstration days, a challenge with the coding school 1337, several meetings with corporate bodies and venture capitalists as well as engagement opportunities with OCP Group and its subsidiary OCP Africa.

Focus

Commenting on the programme, the Impulse Programme Director, Mr Adnane Alaoui Soulimani, explained that the three-month start-up training programme for agritech, biotech and mining tech startups would cover best-in-class business curricula, value-added mentoring opportunities and intensive connections with ecosystem players in Morocco, Switzerland and the USA.

According to him, the Impulse programme sought to reinforce OCP Group’s innovation capabilities, bring innovative solutions to the smallholder farmers in Africa and to support the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems in Morocco and the rest of the African continent.

Benefits

On the benefits of the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of Esoko Limited, Dr Daniel Asare Kyei, stated, “Esoko is excited to be selected among top-notch Agritech companies across Africa to participate in the Impulse Acceleration programme.

“As a company devoted to pioneering innovations in the agricultural value chains, our participation in this highly relevant acceleration programme has opened before us immense opportunities to even bring more innovative digital services to Ghana and Africa's smallholder farmers,” he stated.

For his part, Mr Kamal Yakub from Trotro Tractor, said, “The alignment of their objectives to that of the selected startups makes it easy to find synergy for growth especially at this stage of our journey.

The selection of speakers, facilitators and mentors from various sectors with focus on innovation and excellence in business makes it more exciting and fun,” he stated.

The Chief Technical Officer of Sayetech, Mr Theodore Ohene-Botchway, stated “At SAYeTECH, we design smart machines for African agriculture focusing on the pain points of the smallholder farmer.

The OCP’s Impulse Accelerator is providing us mentorship with a valuable and far-reaching network of investors and collaborators to tap into to develop improved solutions for Africa’s smallholder farmers.”

Background

The Impulse Accelerated Programme call for applications ended on October 1, last year with over 350 applications received from more than 40 countries.