Innovation for Africa's Climate Future

Gilbert Nkpeniyeng won the top prize at the 2024 Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge Entrepreneurship Prize Competition. His project, Ubuntu Social Enterprise, gives farmers in Ghana training in climate-resilient agricultural practices.

The awards were organised by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with The University of Cambridge’s King’s Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab), and were held at the Cambridge Judge Business School in June. Three finalists were awarded prizes by Sonita Alleyne, the Master of Jesus College, at the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Garden Party hosted by the College.

Five Mastercard Foundation Scholars pitched their innovative ideas to a distinguished panel of judges led by Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability and head of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge, with Co-Director of the King’s Entrepreneurship Lab Associate Professor Kamiar Mohaddes .

Alongside them, offering feedback to students, were Cambridge researcher and King's E-Lab Research Associate Dr Nadia Radzman, and Sheelpa Patel, an expert in marketing and a Senior Advisory Board Member of the King's E-Lab.

“The five exciting entrepreneurial pitches generated from the students included serious social commitments, harnessing that spirit of enterprise to do good but also to think about business ideas that will generate profit and employment across the continent of Africa,” Professor Vira said.

Nkpeniyeng grew up in a small farming village in Northern Ghana in a community mostly made up of groundnut (widely known as peanut) farmers.

He was awarded the $15,000 top prize for his Ubuntu Social Enterprise project, which encourages groundnut farmers to adopt sustainable practices.

The groundnut is classified as a legume, belonging to the same family as beans, peas and lentils. It also yields the highest protein per acre of any food in much of Asia and Africa, according to National Geographic.

For this reason, groundnut acts as a major source of energy, protein, fat and vitamins in many traditional recipes across Africa.

Nkpeniyeng encourages farmers to use drought-resistant seeds and warns of slash-and-burn farming, a method which involves clearing land for future harvests by burning all the existing plants on it, destroying natural habitats and exhausting the soil of essential nutrients.

He also educates farmers on how to reduce post-harvest losses, which can be up to 30% if harvesting is delayed.

“The farmers' responses have motivated me. They are aware that the climate is changing, but they are less aware of how to lessen the impact of this change on food production,” Nkpeniyeng said.

He said a new approach to cultivation of groundnuts can provide farmers in his home village and other countries across Africa with a nutritious crop and a high-income return.

“Being awarded this prize is a humbling experience and an incredible honour. It reaffirms the impact we can have when we commit to positive change and innovation, particularly in areas that are often under-served."

Nkpeniyeng pitching his project Ubuntu Social Enterprise. Credit: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero

Nkpeniyeng teaching farmers in Ghana climate resilient practises. Credit: Gilbert Nkpeniyeng

Runners-up won awards for addressing women's access to quality menstrual products and promoting African artisans globally.

Two other innovation pitches were awarded as runners-up: ‘Menstro Pants’ and ‘Kuwiswe’. Both received $10,000 each to continue their entrepreneurial efforts.

Sidney Sussex College student Kehinde Abereoje and King's College student Adewunmi Akingbola pitched their idea for ‘Menstro Pants’. The product is targeted at reducing "period poverty" in Nigeria by manufacturing high quality, washable, reusable and cost-effective menstrual pants. Menstro Pants offer a discreet and sustainable alternative to costly disposable sanitary products.

Sidney Sussex College student, Kehinde Abereoje, and King's College student, Adewunmi Akingbola, pitching their project ‘Menstro Pants’. Credit: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero

Sidney Sussex College student, Kehinde Abereoje, and King's College student, Adewunmi Akingbola, pitching their project ‘Menstro Pants’. Credit: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero

In Nigeria, an estimated 37 million people lack access to affordable menstrual products, with UNICEF reporting that one in 10 young women in Nigeria have missed school in the past 12 months because of their period.

“This made us realise how difficult it is for women and girls to manage a natural process like menstruation. They often depend on unsanitary alternatives like wearing one pad all day or using rags, leaves and tissue paper,” Abereoje said.

“A period should end a sentence, not an education.”

The pair’s product aims to reduce reliance on single-use disposable pads. More than 500 million pads end up in landfill every month, with each pad constructed of almost 90% plastic and taking around 500-800 years to biodegrade. They intend to use the prize money to design and improve their initial prototypes.

“The prize money will help us hit the ground running and contribute to ending period poverty in Nigeria, Africa and globally,” Abereoje said.

Shufaa Hame, Newnham College student pitched ‘Kuwiswe’, an online platform that connects African-owned businesses with a global market. She hopes to bring ethically created African-made products to global customers, celebrating the quality and artistic value of Tanzania and the continent.

“I want to remind people that Africa is not just a basket of raw materials," Hame said.

Her e-commerce retail business will highlight products from ethical African-owned businesses. By providing African businesses with a platform to sell their goods, she hopes to solve logistical issues regarding product delivery, and offer the skills to be competitive in a global market.

"I need to make this idea a reality," Hame said. "I need to make it work for the great African women and men...for African innovation."

Newnham College Student, Shufa Hame pitched her project 'Kuwiswe'

Newnham College Student, Shufaa Hame pitched her project 'Kuwiswe'. Credit: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero

The finalists of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme Entrepreneur Awards

Finalists of the 2024 Mastercard Foundation Social Innovation Entrepreneurship Awards. Credit: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge provides high potential students from under-represented communities in Africa with full scholarships to complete a Master’s degree, learn transformative leadership skills and contribute towards climate resilience and sustainable futures for communities in Africa.

The program will enrol more than 500 students from the African continent between 2022 and 2030 to undertake a wide range of Master’s courses. They will network with like-minded scholars and build life-long friendships.

King’s College Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab) runs a portfolio of activities to equip students with entrepreneurial skills and supports those wishing to explore a career path in innovation, entrepreneurship and business.

In collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge, the King's E-Lab runs a year-long extracurricular program aimed at cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset that students can apply to their own projects. The aim is to encourage student innovators to challenge the status quo and re-imagine the world through sustainable and ethical projects that can have a positive social and environmental impact.

Cambridge Zero is the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative, harnessing the power of research to tackle climate change at one of the top global research universities in the world.

Published 25th September 2024

^{Images: David Wilson/Cambridge Zero}

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