Over twenty-four young Ghanaian entrepreneurs have been equipped with ideational and business development skills through the Start-up weekend Bootcamp by Recycle Up! Ghana. 

Participants were enlightened on problem identifications and the essentials of problem-solving.

The aspiring entrepreneurs including students were supported to develop business ideas rooted in sustainable mitigation of societal problems. 

The startup weekend initiative strives to help young Ghanaian entrepreneurs undergo training to develop eco-friendly solutions to societal challenges.

The programme encourages beneficiaries to tackle matters such as climate adaptation, waste management, plastic waste and youth unemployment. 

The aspiring team of young entrepreneurs were mentored by experienced industry players in the business sector.

Executive director for Recycle Up! Ghana, Abdul Rahim Shaibu-Issah indicated the 6-month incubation programme for participants would prompt a deeper feasibility analysis of the business ideas of the participants. 

“Participants are selected to go through a six-month incubation programme where we would provide them with some support to prototype their ideas and test them on the market and if they are feasible and viable we would support them secure investment to run those businesses.  

“What we are doing is helping young people to come out with ideas that can tackle environmental problems and businesses to create employment and tackle the unemployment situation. The fact that we had 24 participants and ideas, unlike in previous years, we usually got up to 15 ideas. I see most of them as promising, so I see this to be an upgrade of what happened last year,” he explained. 

Hub manager for Recycle Up! Ghana, Ivy Serwaa Badu says the prior training for the boot camp is a build-up to a business pitch competition.   

“Startups were taken through an ideation process which was the root cause analysis, to help them find the root cause of the problems they intend to solve in the society, they were taken through customers' empathy map to find expectations of customers of their prospective products. On the second day, they were helped to build up their ideas, ending up in a business pitch event,” she said. 

The business idea-pitching session saw the 24 aspiring entrepreneurs present their developed business ideas.

Student beneficiary, Lawson Adobor komla aspires to develop biofuel from rice husks for electricity generation companies and local businesses. 

He says the startup weekend, and business pitch competition will be crucial in achieving his goals.

“Over the few days, we have had an impressive education on how to come about our ideas. Successfully executing my aspiration is all i am doing now because I am going to win the pitching competition. That is where I get to be sponsored to engage in further research, especially in developing new ideas such as the production of Silica. 

“Winning this will also get me easy access to grants, sponsorships and investment,” he said. 

Founder of Everything Rice and beneficiary of the Start-up week, Kukua Kelin Yeboah says winning the business idea pitch will enable her to acquire the machinery necessary for her business development. 

“I am very glad that I joined the start-up recycle program because it will enable me to get access to funding that would help me bring my vision to light. 

“I have done product testing on the market that people are willing to buy, but I lack the machinery that would help me to market the product and so I am here to be able to get the funds in order to get the equipment required for the product,” she said. 

The winner, first and second runner-ups of the pitching session were recruited into the 6-month Business Incubator programme to be organized by the organization.