Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UMVIP) last Tuesday organised an information session about IMPULSE, a best-in-class startup acceleration program, with support from OCP Group and its subsidiary OCP Africa.
The program is designed with MassChallenge, a global accelerator organization, with a unique non-profit, zero equity and impact-focused model.
Impulse aims to sustain OCP Group’s ambitious innovation agenda and to accelerate the development of innovative startups working on African challenges in the fields of Agritech, Biotech, Mining Tech and Materials Science & Nanotech.
Speaking at the Ghana information session, which was attended by various stakeholders ranging from young entrepreneurs in Agribusiness, venture capitalists, farmers and corporate executives, Adnane Alaoui Soulimani, Impulse Program Director, stated: “Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is proud to have created, together with MassChallenge and OCP Group, a unique and outstanding value proposition for startups working on African Challenges.
We are also pleased to be able to empower our own youth and entrepreneurs to invent our own future, respecting our identities and following our own models of development.
The Impulse team has been delighted to be able to present and discuss the program offering with representatives from the Ghanaian startup ecosystem. We look forward to receiving applications from Ghanaian entrepreneurs to our program.”
Sharing his experience as an Agritech Entrepreneur, Kamal, the founder of Trotro Tractor, indicated that such an acceleration program would help propel his business to higher heights and expressed excitement that OCP Africa is introducing Impulse to Agri-businesses in Ghana.
He said, “Any innovative initiative that seeks to support smallholder farmers must be commended and supported.”
Sharing her experiences in the agric industry, Nana Akyaa Akosa, Executive Director of the National Food and Agric Show, advised the youth who are into Agri-business to focus on a particular niche and perfect it in order to be successful.
She said women in Agritech will benefit a lot when they are supported by organizations like OCP Africa and advised many of the start-ups to take advantage of the Impulse program to grow their businesses.
On her part, Madam Paulina Ady Wiad, Director of Women in Agric (MoFA), disclosed that the government through other private organizations has trained women in tractor operation and 60 of them will graduate from the training in the coming week.
She stated, “MoFA has collaborated with OCP Africa on a number of projects for small-holder farmers. Impulse is an innovative project which will change the Agribusiness landscape in Ghana and the ministry will once again support this brilliant innovative initiative to succeed in Ghana.
Catherine Akpaloo, a farmer and a tractor operator in the Volta Region, disclosed how technology helped her record increased yield and revenue in his farm business.
She said: “my parents are farmers and when I took over the management of the farms, I adopted an innovation which helps identify pest and diseases and reduce them so as to increase yield.”
She continued that Impulse will be a good platform to help smallholder farmers in the country overcome the different challenges they are facing especially the one related to the required funding to upscale.
