Kosmos Innovation Center awards two startups US$50 000 in seed funding

The Kosmos Innovation Center in Ghana has awarded two winning teams US$50 000 in seed funding at their pitching competition last week.

Kosmos Energy launched the Kosmos Innovation Center seven months ago, with the aim of driving inclusive economic growth through entrepreneurship.The initiative also hopes to provide the private sector with commercial solutions to various issues.

The pitching competition brought together representatives from the agricultural industry, local technology specialists, young entrepreneurs and students as well as many senior business mentors.

“Through these series of innovation-focused events and competitions, we challenged young entrepreneurs to build the foundation of commercially-viable agritech products solutions to address challenges in the Ghanaian agricultural sector,” wrote VP and country manager of Kosmos Energy, Joe Mensah in a press release.

“When we rolled out the challenge, we received over one hundred applications from all over the country. We were quite surprised and overwhelmed by the level of response,” he continued.

Over 40 entrepreneurs were chosen to participate in the innovation challenge, resulting in 11 teams being formed, tackling various agricultural issues.

Kosmos has awarded two startups US$50 000 in seed funding

“Through the programme, these young entrepreneurs learned how to develop business plans, design technology platforms, and pitch their concepts to potential investors,” wrote Mensah.

“Over the months that followed, these young entrepreneurs who we affectionately call ‘AgriTechies’ have indeed shown a lot of passion and determination to make a difference in the agribusiness space,” he continued.

The two winning teams are as follows:

Trotoro Tractor Ltd – Developed a platform which uses mobile phones and GPS units to help you connect to a nearby tractor operator. This gives farmers the opportunity to request, schedule as well as pay for tractor services.

Ghalani – This team is developing farm management software which allows agricultural aggregators manage their relationships with smallholder farms. This service also attempts to improve productivity while reducing risk factors affecting smallholder farms.

“For the last 12 years, we have worked hard to demonstrate to the people of Ghana that we are a long-term partner, committed to working with the country to reach its full potential,” concluded Mensah.

Featured image: Chad Skeers via Flickr