A students’ team from the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), Somanya in the Eastern Region, has been named among the top five finalist teams in the Nkabom Africa Case Competition. The announcement was made on March 16, 2026. The UESD team, Eastside Sankofa Industries Ghana, is focused on agro-processing specifically, mango puree/juice production. The team comprises of Godson Etsri (BSc. Energy Sustainability), Benjamin Ansu Anyame (BSc. Sustainable Development) and Aaron Tawiah Blagodzi (BSc. Energy and Resource Economics).
The competition brings together undergraduate and graduate students working in teams of two to six to develop interdisciplinary solutions that address sustainable nutrition and education challenges in Ghana. The theme for this year’s competition is “Breaking silos to improve nutritional outcomes in Ghana,” with a focus on integrating efforts across the agri-food, health and education sectors. The final pitch event, which is hybrid, is scheduled for April 8, 2026, in Montreal. The overall winner of the top five teams will receive a cash prize of CAD 10,000 to support the implementation of their proposals. The other teams will receive a cash prize of CAD 7,500 for second, CAD 4,000 for third, CAD 2,000 for fourth and CAD 1,500 for fifth place respectively.
All five-finalist teams will benefit from mentorship by experts in industry, government and civil society. In addition, the top ideas will receive nurturing within the Nkabom collaborative framework, with leadership support to pilot and scale up solutions to full investment in Ghana. The competition is expected to foster youth-led innovations that tackle Ghana’s nutrition and agri-food challenges, potentially leading to initiatives such as school feeding programmes, nutrition education campaigns, and agri-tech ventures. It also aligns with Nkabom’s broader objective of promoting youth employment and enhancing food security. The Vice-Chancellor of UESD, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, with Management, have congratulated the team on this remarkable achievement and wished them success in the final pitch.