Husker AI: KNUST Students Win 2026 Pan-African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon With Cocoa Tech Solution
- A student-led team from KNUST beat over 200 applicants to win the 2026 edition of Pan-African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon
- Husker AI built a mobile platform designed to help cocoa farmers unlock income from waste they would otherwise burn or discard
- The three-member team walked away with a US$1,000 cash prize and startup mentorship to develop their agritech innovation
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Three Ghanaian university students have put Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on the map of African artificial intelligence innovation after their agritech solution, Husker AI, claimed first place at the 2026 Pan African AI Summit Hack-AI-Thon.
Source: Facebook
The team consists of Frank Agyare and Caleb Antwi, both studying Computer Science at KNUST, and Wilhelmina Adjah, who is pursuing a degree in Business Administration.
Their win earned them a US$1,000 cash prize alongside dedicated startup mentorship to advance their innovation.
What Husker AI does for cocoa farmers
At its core, Husker AI is built to solve a problem that millions of Ghanaian cocoa farmers live with daily.
After cocoa pods are harvested, the husks are typically burned, abandoned, or left to rot, representing a significant loss of potential income.
The platform allows farmers to scan those husks using a smartphone, after which the system estimates the quantity and quality of the material, calculates an approximate market value in Ghana cedis, and connects them with interested buyers.
Recognising that many smallholder farmers operate in areas with limited connectivity, the team designed the platform to function offline and incorporated support for local languages including Twi, Ewe and Fante.
On the commercial side, the solution links farmers with businesses that can convert cocoa pod husks into products such as animal feed, organic fertiliser and biochar, addressing both the waste problem and the lack of market access in one platform.
From Runner-Up to Pan-African champions
The Hack-AI-Thon was part of the second edition of the Pan African AI Summit, a competition that drew more than 200 applications before organisers narrowed the field to 25 teams.
Those teams pitched their solutions at the AI Hub in Accra, and five finalists were selected to present before a panel of judges and investors. Husker AI was ultimately named the winner.
The result adds to a growing record for the team. Earlier, Husker AI finished as runner-up at the Ghana AI Innovation Challenge, where it also received a Certificate of Commendation for its work.
The achievement underscores the role that young Ghanaian innovators at KNUST are playing in shaping artificial intelligence and agricultural technology solutions for the continent.
The Facebook post by Pan-African on Husker AI's win is below.
KTU engineering students unveil innovation
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on Koforidua Technical University engineering students who built a machine to separate palm fruits from their bunches.
The invention targets a labour-intensive stage of processing, but its capacity and cost have yet to be assessed. Find out how the students demonstrated the machine and what remains to be established about its potential for wider use.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
