/africa-agrifood-collaborative/ en /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/supporting-farmers-build-sustainable-businesses-through-financial-literacy%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E When Racheal Addin received a call inviting her to a bookkeeping and financial literacy training, she did not hesitate. “I was very happy when I heard about the training,” she recalls. ” I had to be there, learn, and use what I’d gain for my future.” Like many smallholder farmers in Pokrom, Ghana’s Eastern Region, Addin worked hard to grow her business. But like many entrepreneurs, she faced a challenge that had nothing to do with farming itself. She struggled to keep track of her money. Income from the farm often blended with household expenses, making it difficult to know whether her Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:43:31 -0400 Nkabom at Ashesi 53 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/nkabom-africa-case-competition-breaking-silos-improve-nutritional-outcomes-ghana%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E Hosted by ����VR��Ƶ’s Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI) Office of Sustainable Africa, the inaugural Nkabom Africa Case Competition brought together students, researchers, policymakers and industry leaders to address a deceptively simple question: how can we break silos to improve nutritional outcomes in Ghana? The answers, as became clear over the course of the day, were anything but simple. Part of the broader Nkabom Collaborative — a partnership between ����VR��Ƶ, six Ghanaian institutions, an industry partner and the Mastercard Foundation — the competition asked participants to Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:23:58 -0400 Emma Dollery 52 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/public-health-agriculture-how-uhas-fnbsph-taking-bold-steps-vegetable-farming%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E At the University of Health and Allied Sciences, training future health professionals extends beyond the classrooms and lecture halls. Through the Nkabom Collaborative, the university is exploring innovative ways to connect food systems, agriculture and health. The Fred Newton Binka School of Public Health is breaking new ground in crop production and has established its first student-led climate-smart vegetable farm, which has recently achieved its first successful cultivation and harvest. While the harvest is an important milestone, the school farm represents something even more significant Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:19:27 -0400 UHAS Nkabom 51 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/feeding-two-futures-books-and-grains-better-tomorrow%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E Paulina Mwinwele, a young woman in her fourth year pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Nutrition, distinguishes herself from her peers through her strong entrepreneurial spirit. Unlike other students her age, Paulina has chosen to plant her ambitions quite literally in the soil of Kwasi Fante, a quiet farming community nestled in the Afram Plains of Ghana's Eastern Region. There, she owns and manages a maize farm, a venture that is as much a lesson in resilience as it is in agriculture. She started small, with just an acre of land. Her mother made the first step possible by providing Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:20:35 -0400 Nkabom at UHAS 50 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/uesds-eastside-sankofa-industries-team-presented-nkabom-africa-case-competition-prize%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E Winners of the Nkabom Africa Case Competition 2026 have received their prizes at a ceremony held at the Auditorium, Multi-Purpose Building on the campus of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), Somanya, Eastern Region. The event brought together members of the University community, partners of the Nkabom Collaborative, representatives from ����VR��Ƶ, and industry stakeholders. The overall winners, Eastside Sankofa Industries Ghana, emerged with an innovative agribusiness solution aimed at reducing post-harvest mango waste by processing surplus mangoes into Wed, 13 May 2026 11:09:39 -0400 uesd nkabom 49 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/nkabom-collaborative-empowers-youth-through-fish-processing-technology-training-uesd%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E Persons in agribusiness, entrepreneurship, youth and student groups, workers in aquaculture and fisheries, fish processors, and extension officers are undergoing a short course in Fish Processing Technology at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD, Somanya, Eastern Region). The five-day intensive training programme, is being organised by the Nkabom Collaborative-UESD in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and ����VR��Ƶ. The initiative seeks to equip young people between 18 and 35 years with practical skills in fish processing, preservation, branding Wed, 13 May 2026 10:10:18 -0400 uesd Nkabom 48 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/strengthening-market-access-and-digital-capabilities-agri-food-businesses-ghana%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has successfully delivered a two-city Market Access, Sales, and Digital Marketing training programme in Accra and Kumasi, aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of businesses within Ghana’s agri-food sector. Held in March 2026, the initiative brought together entrepreneurs and industry players to build practical skills in market expansion, customer acquisition, and the effective use of digital tools for business growth in an evolving economic landscape. The programme was designed to equip participants with practical market access strategies for Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:58:36 -0400 Marie Antoinette Kosiba 47 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/nkabom-collaborative-ug-positions-youth-led-agri-food-ventures-sustainable-market%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E “I had relied on technical language, making it difficult to identify real buyers or sell existing products. Now I appreciate the value in shifting from an ‘everyone is my customer’ mindset to a one priority-focused segment mindset. This has helped me develop a small market-test plan focused on customers I can realistically reach.” This reflection captures more than personal growth — it suggests a foundational shift in the business thinking of Elpidio Tossu, whose agri-tech start-up, Feathery-Care, provides digital solutions to make poultry farming and other food systems more attractive and Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:07:24 -0400 Enid Asamoah 46 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/milk-market-youth-and-pwds-build-enterprise-skills-koforidua%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E The Nkabom Collaborative at Koforidua Technical University organized a 3-day experiential entrepreneurship training on fresh yoghurt production for the youth at the Koforidua Technical University. Participants attended the training with enthusiasm and curiosity as they did not know how fresh yoghurt is made. On the final afternoon of the training, trays were displayed with freshly set yoghurt, and participants leaned in to check the texture and consistency of their products. They tasted the yoghurt with quiet pride as this was the first time many of them had turned a simple raw material into a Wed, 04 Mar 2026 11:55:21 -0500 Emmanuel Gamor 44 /africa-agrifood-collaborative/%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A//www.mcgill.ca/africa-agrifood-collaborative/article/nkabom-collaborative-knust-launches-second-cohort-agribusiness-trainers%22%20hreflang%3D%22en%22%3Eview%3C/a%3E The Nutrition and Sustainable Agri-food Collaborative at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation (Nkabom Collaborative), has begun training the second cohort of facilitators under its Entrepreneurship Empowerment (A2Es) Training of Tutors (ToT) programme. The intensive 10-day programme has brought together 30 facilitators from agricultural colleges across Ghana to equip them with practical skills in agribusiness, business plan development and pitching techniques. Participants are expected to cascade the training to Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:22:59 -0500 KNUST 42