President Akufo-Addo (arrowed) with all the winners of Season Five of the Presidential Pitch which was held in Accra. With them is Kofi Owusu Nkansah (3rd from right), CEO, NEIP. Picture: Samuel Tei Adano

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UMaT student thrills President

Timothy Ngnenbe Aug - 24 - 2024 , 09:09

It was an ecstatic moment for Samuel Naamgwimaa, a native of Damongo in the Savannah Region, when he emerged the overall winner of the fifth Presidential Pitch held in Accra yesterday.

The 25-year-old Electrical and Electronic Engineering diploma student of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) at Tarkwa in the Western Region took home GH¢250,000 for his innovation, dubbed: Smart Switch, which was adjudged the overall best by the panel members.

Although the prize money for the winner was originally GH¢200,000, luck smiled at him when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo added a personal package of GH₵50,000.

By this feat, Naamgwimaa became the maiden winner of the Dr John Kumah Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which was launched by President Akufo-Addo at the event in honour of the late Deputy Minister of Finance for his contribution to entrepreneurship and innovation.

The former student of Don Bosco Technical Institute in Sunyani in the Bono Region beat off competition from nine other pitchers, including Wisdom Torkornoor Boadu, who placed second and received GH¢150,000 for his innovation – Freshline.

Other winners

For placing third, Bismark Osei of Decor Plus took home GH₵140,000, while Amanda Aninagyei of Smart Watch and Onyx Terchi-Duku of OGames Studio received GH¢130,000 and GH¢110,000, respectively.

The other pitchers - Nyaro Lartey Billton, Oasal Limited; Ziblim Abdul-Rahim, Hullsnovation; Isaac Brenya and Foster Osei, Ecovon; Georgina Boamah, Verte Tower; and Caleb Lomo, GreenHeart SE, received GH₵80,000 respectively to support their businesses.

Excitement

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Naamgwimaa said the GH¢250,000 he received was timely as it would help him to scale up the innovation to impact lives.

“I’m so motivated by this prize and it means a lot to me. It will help me to scale up my innovation and make real impact on many lives. I’m really grateful to the President and all those behind this great initiative.

“It will help me to start taking my product to the market. I have been working on it since my first year in the senior high school, and I am happy for this breakthrough,” he said.

Context

The Presidential Pitch is a deliberate initiative by the government to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.

The business competition, a novelty opportunity for young entrepreneurs, serves as an incubating platform for strong business ideas and capital funding from the government.

The initiative seeks to turn business ideas by Ghanaian youth between the ages of 18 and 40 years into global business giants with the support of the government.

This is in line with the President's vision to assist young entrepreneurs to nurture their business ideas and improve livelihoods. Applicants are selected to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, out of which 30 are selected for funding.

At yesterday’s pitch, 10 young Ghanaians presented their ideas and innovations across sectors such as agriculture, energy, waste management, education and climate resilience.

Government’s commitment

President Akufo-Addo commended young Ghanaians who had demonstrated their innovative ideas through the presidential pitch, and urged them to stay focused on scaling up those ideas for the benefit of the society.

He described as remarkable the impact of the work of winners of the various seasons of the Presidential Pitch in addressing societal challenges for sustainable development.

The President said he was proud to be associated with the works of of the youth who had demonstrated entrepreneurial potentials.

He stressed that it was when special attention was paid to entrepreneurship in the country that sustainable jobs could be created to address development needs.

While touting the government's support to entrepreneurship, he said more support would be given to innovators and businesses.

“The overall winner for today takes home GH₵200,000, up from the GH₵150,000 for last year's winner. This demonstrates that the government is committed to supporting our young innovators to develop their businesses,” he said.

John Kumah immortalised

As a means of immortalising the contribution made by the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme (NEIP), the late Dr John Kumah, President Akufo-Addo declared that beginning from next year, the week preceding the Presidential Pitch would be named after him.

“I made a promise to my dear friend, the late Dr John Kumah, to immortalise his memory for his contribution to entrepreneurship, and that day has arrived.

“I declare that starting next year, the week preceding the presidential pitch will be named as the John Kumah Week of Entrepreneurship. In his honour, the first prize in the presidential pitch will also be called the Dr John Kumah Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” he said

He said the gesture was a further testament of the government’s unwavering commitment to nurturing a nation of entrepreneurs.