A new wave of Ghanaian startups in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Mastercard Foundation are turning food waste into opportunity.
The initiative, which awarded between $1,000 and $10,000 to winning teams are to support innovative, climate-smart solutions focused on reducing post-harvest losses through food waste recycling.
The funding was disbursed following a three-day Agribusiness Innovation Competition at the University of Ghana. The event attracted young entrepreneurs developing sustainable approaches to convert perishable produce into valuable products.
Their prototypes ranged from solar dryers and tomato powder to rice-based cosmetics and smart storage systems, each with potential to significantly cut down food spoilage.
The WFP says its collaboration with Mastercard aims to accelerate youth-led solutions that address Ghana’s staggering annual post-harvest loss of $1.9 billion, often caused by poor processing and storage infrastructure.
According to Ms. Aurore Rusiga, WFP’s Country Director, food transformation and waste recycling are crucial strategies for strengthening food systems and ensuring future security.
“By empowering young innovators to recycle surplus and perishable produce, we’re not just reducing waste but we’re building resilience, increasing income for farmers, and safeguarding nutrition,” she said.
Mr. Steven Nhyira Odarteifio, WFP’s Food Systems Coordinator, explained that selected startups will receive staggered payments based on meeting performance milestones.
“We’re backing ideas that transform the agriculture value chain, turning food that would otherwise go to waste into profitable, useful goods,” he said.
Beyond immediate funding, the programme also connects participants with mentorship, research partners, and investors to help scale their recycling-based agribusinesses.
With agriculture employing over 60% of Ghana’s workforce and occupying nearly two-thirds of its land area, experts believe that empowering startups to recycle food waste could play a major role in reducing hunger and improving livelihoods.
The initiative highlights a broader shift toward circular agriculture, where nothing is wasted and every crop, whether fresh or unsellable can be repurposed into value-added products.
