Tijjani Ali Lawal, FOUNDER, FARMSPACE TECHNOLOGY, Nigeria

Contact: tijjanali@gmail.com   

Problem: In Nigeria, perishable food products sold in the traditional market by vendors are displayed under the sun all day. This results in rapid deterioration causing high food and economic losses for vendors and exposes food to contaminates rendering them unsafe for consumption. Vendors lack adequate access to storage facilities and improved post-harvest tools that can address these problem.

Solution: Ecotronics is an agritech startup that manufactures an innovative low-cost portable solar-powered refrigeration device. Our innovation provides vendors an affordable and sustainable cold storage service for perishable food products in the traditional marketplace. This solution helps them extend the shelf life of their products to keep them fresh, safe, and in good condition long after harvest.

Oyeyemi Fadairo, RESEARCH & PROJECT ASSOCIATE, SIMPLIX CONSULTING, Nigeria

Contact: oyeyemifadairo@gmail.com

Problem: In Nigeria, perishable food producers lose nearly half of their annual produce due to inadequate storage and processing facility. To deal with this challenge, the excess produce are usually laid on the bare floor and exposed directly to the sun, pests, animals, dust, and rainfall to dry but this results in dried products which are unsafe for consumption.

Solution: SolaFlex is an inflatable tunnel solar dryer for smallholder farmers to use to reduce loss of fresh produce and create a safe, nutritious, and low-cost product available year around. Our innovation helps achieve: (1) Faster drying time and increased availability of safe food in the traditional market (2) Retention of nutrients compared to traditional methods (3) Simplicity of design that can be realistically adapted by farmers (4) Applicable to a wide range of perishable food item. 

Ede Ruth Chikodi, Business Lead, Nigeria

Contact: scratop36@gmail.com

Problem: Increased adoption of chemical fertilizers by small and medium scale food crop farmers who are major food producers in the country and its negative impact on food safety due to the deposit of heavy metals from the chemical fertilizers on the food crops harvested and destruction of farm soil biodiversity and fertility. Open municipal dumping of biowaste in traditional markets due to Unsustainable biowaste recovery and management system, this has led to making the market a residential area for food contaminants , increasing the breeding and spread of harmful microbial pathogens and leaving the market unhygienic for the food business and the food unsafe.

Solution: Scratop is a a too good to dump biowaste recovery business for the production of organic fertilizer. We are making traditional markets hygienic via an incentive based biowaste recovery system that enables the direct collection of biowaste before they are disposed in the market’s open municipal dumpsites. These recovered biowaste are converted to nutrient rich organic fertilizers using our proprietary fertilizer formula and it contributes to the production of healthy and organic food among small and medium scale food crop farmers.

Helen Weldemichael, Associate Professor at Wolkite University, Ethiopia

Contact: nelehwm@gmail.com 

Problem: The traditional methods of processing Enset (Ensete ventricosum) ) are extremely unhygienic and time consuming. People often use barefoot to process it and apply unsafe traditional processing equipment . Moreover, they used surface and pit fermentation for preparation of Kocho (fermented product of Enset). In fermented kocho, spore-forming Clostridium and Bacillus anthracis were found and likely introduced during the fermentation process which is traditionally done on the ground or underground. The unavailability of improved technology that can improve safety and increase efficiencies affects not only agricultural production but also the well-being and health of family members who eat Enset.

Solution: We developed an enset processing machine, starter culture and fermentation pot. The availability of improved processing devices helps to prevent food cross-contamination from biological (microbiological) and physical food safety hazards. In addition, it contributes to saving time and energy and improving the well-being and health of family members. Moreover, good manufacturing practices followed by starter culture inoculation provide a guarantee of fermentation processes. It helps to reduce fermentation time, improve product shelf life, standardize the product and decrease the availability of short-chain chain fatty acids.

Yezichalem Tessema, CEO, THEDAY AGRO INDUSTRY PLC, Ethiopia

Contact: yezich@thedayjam.com

Problem: In Ethopia, there is a low fruit consumption of approximately 7kg person/year. Vitamin A deficiency affects 61% of preschool children and contributes to 80,000 child deaths per year. Papaya fruit is a major source of vitamins (Vitamin A and C), however,  unprocessed fruits are highly susceptible for microbial contaminant, like salmonella. Ethiopia is one of the largest producers of papaya, yet over 30% of the supply is lost post-harvest. Traditional fruit markets are vulnerable to microbial contaminations because vendors do not have proper storage systems or proper waste disposals. In traditional markets, fresh papaya often comes into contact with live animals (dung's)  and are sold on the ground. There is currently no product available in traditional markets that provides consumers with access to nutritious and safe papaya year around.

Solution: Our product is dried papaya powder which is safe, nutritious and high quality. Papaya powder uses the latest fruit drying technology in order to have minimal nutrition loss during food processing. This innovation provides nutritious, quality and affordable dry fruit and fruit-based snacks to our population in Ethiopia. This idea will also help to reduce post-harvest losses of fruits, especially when in season, by converting the fruit into powder for use when it is out of season. The innovation will identify techniques to minimize the risk of contamination of the papaya powder during the drying process.

Eyoel Legesse Arega, DIRECTOR OF FOOD MANUFACTURING BUSINESS UNIT, ETHIO-GABANA TRADING PLC, Ethiopia

Contact: EyoelL@ethiogabana.com

Problem: Stunting affects 37% of children under age of 5 and generates an economic loss of $1.8 billion every year. Shell egg spoilage and damage is a serious risk factor for microbial contaminants, like salmonella. Other issues include poor transportation and storage system, a short shelf life (not more than two weeks), and limited accessibility across different regions. 

Solution: Processed whole egg powder can eliminate the risk of Salmonella in fresh eggs. Processing also provides a long shelf life, easy-to-measure portions and application in local stews like 'shero' and 'meser wet'. The whole egg powder also contains supplemental fortification with minerals and vitamins. Our company, Ethio-gabana Trading, is available to provide processed whole egg powder and fortified supplementary food for children, lactating mothers and pregnant women to improve daily nutritional intake. In addition to this, by empowering women through breaking gender bias, we create economic growth by sourcing table eggs for our whole egg powder directly from women-owned poultry farms.