Twenty Ghanaian Startups Graduate From UNICEF StartUp Lab Accelerator

After an intensive six-month accelerator program focused on business and product development, 20 of Ghana’s innovative entrepreneurs graduated from the UNICEF StartUp Lab. Throughout the program, each selected startup was provided with up to GHS 25,000 in prototyping funding, in addition to immersive and hands-on business acceleration support. The startups also gained valuable access to a network of experts from UNICEF, KOICA, and MEST, offering significant guidance and fostering networking and investment opportunities. Moreover, qualified companies were given dedicated assistance towards achieving recognition as a ​​UN-recognized Digital Public Good. 

Led by UNICEF in Ghana and supported by KOICA under the “KOICA-UNICEF Accelerating Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Ghana” project, the UNICEF StartUp Lab is an accelerator program dedicated to support businesses working towards advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children and young people. The UNICEF StartUp Lab integrates business incubation with wide-reaching technical expertise and systems knowledge in the social sector.

These startups include; Loozeele Initiative, which trains and supports young Kayayei from Northern  Ghana with entrepreneurship skills and skills training in basketry, fabric weaving, baking, and shea butter making; Brox Technology, which helps students and parents access students’ results without the stress of looking for checker cards or an internet cafe; My Power App, a social connection platform designed for girls to connect with each other, learn new skills, and connect with mentors in a safer virtual space; Easimodation, a real estate company that creates sustainable housing alternatives for students while giving individuals the opportunity to invest in real estate projects; Nnoboa, a Human Resource company operating within the agricultural sector to help small, medium, and large-scale farmers and agribusinesses increase their productivity through the provision of quality and qualified human capital; NetLyfe, a health platform that provides medical assistance to patients dealing with malaria, hypertension, diabetes, and pneumonia; Bethniel Financial Technology, which builds financial services applications, tools, and infrastructure and provides financial technology consulting services for the African market;

The cohort also includes; ViztaEdu, a social media-based educational mobile and web-based app for tertiary-level students to share their educational journeys, share and collaborate on projects, and access gamified learning features; Chestify AI Labs, which is building deep learning models that aid in diagnosing pathologies on medical images; Luminate Career Services, a career guidance company dedicated to providing students, from Junior High School to university, with the tools and resources they need to find fulfilling and relevant careers; ELNAK Recycle, a textile waste management company that provides recycling and decluttering services for textile-centered businesses and households; Jowato, a technology startup founded to provide and equip small, rural, and household indigenous businesses with the digital skills and solutions; EjumaHub, a platform that connects independent handyman service professionals with customers.

It is completed by; TrashSmart, a digital waste management company that provides exceptional services in waste collection, the sale of cleaning items, and partnerships with key stakeholders in the waste industry; Heny, which is enabling individuals and SMEs to create and share authentic African experiences, where individuals and small businesses get to participate in the gig economy by sharing their experiences and culture with others; CTN Technologies, which provides training in new technologies such as 3D printing, robotics, and drone technology to equip young people between the ages of 16-30 with STEM educational system skills; AkoFresh, a green cold chain solution offering sustainable preservation services to farmers to help reduce postharvest losses; DeafCanTalk, which leverages technology that allows deaf people to access video content in sign language; KoenaConcepts, a Pan-African technology company building innovative technology solutions for the socioeconomic challenges of West, East, and Southern African countries and GAPHealth, which provides enterprise and patient-centred consumer software for digital health applications and research.