The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) team- Eastside Sankofa Industries Ghana has been named winners of the 2026 Nkabom Africa Case Competition at the Finals held by McGill University and Mastercard foundation on Wednesday April 8 in Montreal ,Canada.
The UESD team comprised of Godson Etsri (BSc. Energy Sustainability), Benjamin Ansu Anyame (BSc. Sustainable Development) and Aaron Tawiah Blagodzi (BSc. Energy and Resource Economics).
They beat finalists which included Biotechnology for African Nutrition Collaborative from University of Ghana (UG) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Edunet team from Arizona State University (ASU), USA, Ghana, Nigeria, Okuafo Adanfo team with members from University of Cambridge, UK,Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, as well as SPIAfrica team from Princeton University, USA,Ghana, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, USA.
The Eastside Sankofa Industries Ghana, team from UESD focused on developing practical, agricultural-based solutions for food systems leveraging mango production in the Somanya enclave to produce mango puree/juice products of high nutritional value.
This when scaled up ,will not only create job opportunities and enhance food security but also reduce post harvest losses in the mango industry.
UESD team received a cash prize of CAD 10,000 for proposal implementation.
The other teams received 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 be mentored and groomed by experts in the manufucturing industry.
Additionally, the UESD team will receive nurturing within the Nkabom collaborative framework for pilot and scale up production.
The initiative, “Nkabom(means togetherness in Akan): Nutrition and Sustainable Agri-food Collaborative,” is a ten-year project designed to provide dignified and fulfilling work for three million Ghanaian youth by 2030.
The Nkabom Collaborative is a multi-stakeholder partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that brings together McGill University, six Ghanaian educational institutions, and an industry partner to transform Ghana’s nutrition and agri-food ecosystem by creating opportunities for youth-led impact through experiential learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Key project partners are University of Environment and Sustainable Development(UESD), Koforidua Technical University (KTU), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Ghana (UG), University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ashesi University, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), in partnership with McGill University, Canada and Mastercard Foundation.
The objective of the case competition is to engage students from participating universities in developing cross-sectoral solutions, for industry players from the business, government, and civil society sectors, who served as judges.
Between January and April 2026, student teams researched and worked together on various pitches that address a complex sustainability issues.
The 2026 challenge targets propose solutions to break silos across industrial sectors engaging propose (agri-food, health, and education) and societal sectors (business, government, and civil society), with the aim of improving nutritional outcomes, taking Ghana as a starting point.
The challenge draws on UNESCO’s 2025 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Education and Nutrition, and related knowledge generated to inform proposed solutions.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
