Akofresh Selected As The Only Ghanaian Enterprise To Participate In The UpLink Top Innovator Engagement Program
Oct. 1, 2021, 3:24 p.m.
Akofresh, Ghana’s green cold chain enterprise, has been selected out of 170 submissions to participate in the UpLink Top Innovator Engagement Program together with 13 others.
This makes Akofresh the only Ghanaian enterprise to participate in the program after 14 top innovators were shortlisted from the #GenerationRestoration Youth Challenge to move ahead to the next program.
The #GenerationRestoration Youth Challenge was designed by the World Economic Forum's platforms, 1t.org and UpLink, to conserve and restore ecosystems globally. Other supporting members were the Salesforce and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
The challenge invited young innovators from 50 countries that pioneered innovative solutions to conserve, restore, manage, empower, and advocate for urgent change to protect our ecosystems and planet.
For Akofresh’s innovation, the enterprise seeks to eradicate post-harvest losses as well as give farmers bargaining power. Its storage system is a solar-powered cooling technology that will keep crops specifically tomatoes fresh and extend their shelf life for 21 days under suitable temperatures.
Akofresh and the other 13 enterprises’ solutions address a range of ecosystem challenges, including deforestation and forest degradation and decline in pollinators, and the lack of conservation training and opportunities for young people to become equipped with the tools to protect nature.
Lindsey Prowse Specialist, 1t.org, and Silje Ditlefsen UpLink Community Success Lead, Nature-Based Solutions, wrote: “Investing in the next generation of ecopreneurs is key to securing the future of our planet.”
“Young people and future generations will be the worst affected by climate change. Already, nearly all of the world’s 2.2 billion children have been exposed to at least one climate-related risk – from toxic air pollution to wildfires or droughts.”
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“Critical to helping fight climate change and building resilience are Earth’s ecosystems. Forests, grasslands, and wetlands are natural climate solutions in that they capture and sequester carbon. They also offer a broad range of other benefits – from cleaning our air, controlling temperatures, preventing floods, creating jobs, and protecting our mental health.”
“But Earth’s ecosystems are at risk, and there has never been a more urgent need to protect and revive them. Sparked by a formidable sense of responsibility, young people worldwide are leading by example. Their actions and innovative solutions indicate the power of an environmentally and technology-savvy generation to bring about real, concrete change.”
Throughout the year ahead, the challenge will help Akofresh scale its solutions through capacity-building workshops, visibility, and mentoring opportunities, as well as connections to experts and potential investors.
The other ecopreneurs are Cábula Initiative, CoalitionWILD, CERIOPS Research Organization, Green Generation Initiative, Millennium Kids Inc, Mvutu, Ecological Food Caterpillars Company, The Research Education for Sustainable Actions, Saving the Amazon P.I.B Global Limited, Seawater Solutions, The Urban Garden Initiative (TUGI), and Treeconomy.
This article has been updated
Verny Joy Author
Verny loves to write poetry, fiction and quotes. Her love for writing landed her in journalism. She loves gadgets and travelling to explore new places.