Ghana

Ghanaian agritech startup Okuafo Foundation wins ¢3.3 million Zayed Sustainability Prize

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 11:24 AM by Ebenezer Agbey Quist 3 min read

- Okuafo Foundation, a Ghanaian startup has been awarded a Zayed Sustainability Prize

- The Okuafo Foundation which is located at Agbogba in Accra won over ¢3.3 million at the event held in Abu Dhabi

- The startup created an AI mobile application that detects diseases in crops without the use of internet

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A Ghanaian startup at Agbogba in Accra called the Okuafo Foundation has been awarded a whopping ¢3.3 million for inventing a mobile application that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect diseases in crops at an early stage without using internet connection.

Ventureburn.com indicates that the Agritech startup Okuafo Foundation was awarded $600 000 ( Approximately ¢3.3 million) after it won the food category in the Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020.

The Zayed Sustainability Prize is an annual $3 million prize set aside to recognize, celebrate and inspire innovative projects that are making a great impact on society.

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It is the leading sustainability award in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was inspired by the first president of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The groundbreaking awards ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi on January 13.

Reports indicate that the mobile software that was created by the startup has helped over 30,000 farmers in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Burkina Faso.

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The farmers used the software to reduce their crop losses and improve their harvest by 50%, thereby increasing profits and disposable income.

The director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Lamya Fawwaz, mentioned that the initiative was impressed by the high calibre and quality of projects submitted for this year’s edition.

Speaking on behalf of the amazing startup, young and vibrant Haqq said:

“This award comes at a time when it is most needed. The winning prize fund will enable us to empower farmers, across Africa, with sustainable AI-powered solutions that will revolutionise the way they farm, store, and process their yields.”

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In a related report, a young SHS boy from Koforidua by name Kelvin Amaniampong has come up with an innovation that can save Free SHS policy ¢4m yearly.

Kelvin, from a humble background, who is in the double-track system realized how much time he has had to spend being unproductive and decided to provide a solution.

He came up with an app called Scrolbooks with the help of his uncle to provide free textbooks and past questions to millions of Ghanaian students nationwide.

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Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:

Ebenezer Agbey Quist (HOD Human-Interest) Ebenezer Agbey Quist is the Head of the Human Interest Desk at YEN.com.gh. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from KNUST (2017) with 8 years of experience as a writer and 3 years as an editor. He has certificates in AFP courses on digital investigation techniques. At YEN.com.gh, Ebenezer has won the Outstanding Achievement for Professional Conduct Award and the Best Human Interest Editor Award. He is also the author of 3 books. You can contact him via ebenezer.quist@yen.com.gh.

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