A Fashion Designer, Priscilla Adu Gyamfi, reinforced the exceptional abilities of differently abled persons when she thrilled judges with her innovations, winning her the first runner up award of the Youth Innovation Circles pitching challenge in Kumasi.
The impact driven initiative funded by the MasterCard Foundation and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) constitutes a major test-run wing of the Young Africa Innovates (YAI) program which aims at creating at least 2500 direct jobs.
Its unique strategy is identifying viable ideas and community based local entrepreneurs and bringing them into an enabling entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports growth, development and scalability.
The inclusive project targeting youth aged 18 to 35 is designed to admit at least 70% female entrepreneurs; youth with disabilities; persons living in rural and hard to reach communities as well as other marginalized groups including those with minimal education and literacy.
A YIC Demo Day and Pitching Session held in the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi, witnessed a breathtaking contest of sterling innovative ideas as young innovators wowed a bench of judges with compelling arguments about their business ideas, the commercial viability of their product and service offerings; the financial prospects of their businesses and why they deserved funding to scale and create sustainable jobs.
Priscilla’s Inspiration
Priscilla, a dynamic woman with a physical challenge shared an inspiring story about how she entered into the sustainable clothing and textile business, up scaling second hand clothing and recycling cuttings into beddings, upholstery, bags and other personal effects and effectively growing her little startup capital into a working capital of some 50,000.
In a space of seven years, Priscilla Adu Gyamfi, who has become a source of encouragement to persons with disability has employed 15 staff, two of whom are also physically challenged and has hopes of securing funding support to acquire two more shops to expand her business.
Speaking to the media after picking the top spots which afforded her a cash award of GHc8000; she called for a collaborated and enhanced support from both state and non-state actors to economically empower persons with disability who end up in the majority, begging on the streets.
“I am moved to tears when I see my fellow persons with disability left with no other option than beg to feed. If I could do this with the support and encouragement of my parents and with my determination not to beg, I feel they can also be supported to harness their talents. They can also contribute meaningfully to society, live decent lives and earn enough to cater for themselves and their families,” she advocated.
Commending YIC, Priscilla Adu Gyamfi emphasized the invaluable importance of the YIC trainings, mentorship and oversight for her company Queency Decorations and Fashion Design Enterprise located at Tepa in the Ahafo Ano North Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
She explained that the training had granted her invaluable information, exposure and empowerment to build and sustain business growth and continuity insisting the enlightenment was worth more than any cash she had received from the pitching contest.
Other Winners
The overall winner, Nsru Dondo Eric, an innovator of a mobile rice threshing machine is on a promising path to improve yields, bolster food security and improve incomes by solving a major challenge hampering several small holder rice farmers in Ghana.
Whereas some small holder farmers spend days threshing freshly harvested raw rice to dehusk and separate the paddy from the weeds and chaff, sometimes involving physical efforts of beating the produce with sticks, his innovation is able to do a better and faster work threshing acres in few hours.
A cash price of 10,000 Cedis would help him purchase parts to improve his technology which uses a Changfan machine mounted on a motorized tricycle; a technology he hopes to build into scalable mobile threshing systems that can be made available and affordable to small holder farmers across the country.
The second runner up went to Healthy Foods; a bakery which has inculcated local and nutritionally rich ingredients to bake bread.
Its unique product offering was an alternative that promotes healthy living and prevents health conditions related to overconcentration of refined ingredients and constipation, inherent in the local bread on the market.
The moment of serendipity broke when Hapaweb solutions offered a GHc5 000 cash to support an AI Driven Tech App Quick Start; jointly developed by Chris Oppong and Joshua Nyarko to simplify lecture notes, provide likely questions and create audio books to promote smarter learning.
The Judges further committed to supporting a young lady Rose Amewudor who pitched a fresh juices and pastries brand, Jovandi, to rebrand her products with more appealing labeling and packaging.
Evelyn Appiah, Project lead for YIC and head of HR and Legal for HapaSpace Innovation Hub, the project implementing partners indicated that she was impressed with what the project has achieved with atypical entrepreneurs who would usually not be persons with advanced educational backgrounds nor exposed to business incubation hubs.
“YIC targeted young persons in marginalized communities with very atypical innovations. They are not your regular degree holders or the elite. They are people without funding, mentorship nor any kind of formal training. For some it was just an idea and now we are witnessing pitches from entrepreneurs who have created more than three hundred businesses,” She Elucidated.
She emphasized the need for more funding to be secured for the continuation of initiatives that hunt outside the box for innovators providing economically viable solutions to society’s needs, optimistic such initiatives provide budding opportunities to generate jobs for the teaming unemployed youth in the country.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
