UESD wins Nkabom Africa Case contest

The East Sankofa Industries of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) at Somanya in the Eastern Region has won this year’s Nkabom Africa Case Competition.

The event, which was on the theme: “Breaking silos to improve nutritional outcomes in Ghana”, was hosted by UESD, in collaboration with McGill University’s Sustainable Growth Initiative and the Nkabom Collaborative.

The UESD team, made up of Aaron Tawiah Blagodji, Benjamin Ansu Anyame and Godson Etsri, received a handsome $10,000 as their prize, while the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana teams jointly placed second and took $7,500 as their prize.

Nkabom project

The UESD Nkabom Project, which is a 10-year collaborative initiative between the UESD and Master Card Foundation, focused on empowering the youth through agrobusiness, specifically in three pillars, namely: agro-waste processing, aquaculture technology and Sustainable entrepreneurship, to create jobs and enhance food security.

The Nkabom Project also aims at training over 340 youths, creating 150 plus jobs, and eventually empowering three million young Ghanaians by 2030.

The Registrar of the UESD, Mary Abena Agyepong, who is the Nkabom Project Administrator, in her address at the award ceremony, said this year’s competition was inspiring as the contestants displayed outstanding analytical thinking, creativity and practical problem-solving skills as the participants tackled real-world challenges with passion and ingenuity.

She explained that the Nkabom Africa Case Competition continued to serve as a powerful platform for nurturing talent and strengthening collaboration between academia and industry.

“It is through these efforts that we celebrate achievement, but more importantly, we celebrate the journey of learning resilience and growth that each team has undergone.

“Every participant here is a winner, having demonstrated courage, discipline and commitment to excellence”, Mrs Agyepong stated.

She said Eastside Sankofa Industries, winners of this year’s competition, deserved special commendation as their performance stood out for its depth of insight into innovation and clarity of execution.

Vice Chancellor’s remarks

The Vice Chancellor of the UESD, Prof. Eric Nyarko Sampson, in his remarks, thanked the participants for their collaborative work during the competition.

He encouraged the participants to carry forward the lessons learned to inspire them to continue striving for excellence and contribute meaningfully to the development of societies.

The Chairman of the Governing Council of UESD, Seth Terkper, who chaired the event, said the competition, from what he observed, was not just about solving a case study, but it was about proving that young people were ready for decent, fulfilling work.

He said the nutrition sector in Ghana was full of opportunities, food processing, supply chain innovation, behaviour change communication, fortification and much more.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on behalf of his team, the leader of the award winners, Aaron Tawiah Blagodji, said the competition provided them with an opportunity and served as an eye-opener to further develop their project, Reducing Mango Waste. He said the project, if sustained with support from the school, would have a positive impact on the country.