SAYeTECH, a Ghanaian startup has been announced as the winner of the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2024.
The MAC 2024 grand finale marked the culmination of the competition, which celebrated innovative AgriTech solutions driving change in West Africa. Hosted in partnership with the Norwegian Embassy in Accra, this year’s theme, ‘Find Your Soil,’ focused on AgriTech innovation in the region.
“AgriTech innovation thrives when it’s rooted in the right environment. ‘Find Your Soil’ is about helping innovators find the ecosystem where they can grow. Through the MEST Africa Challenge, we provide the visibility, partnerships, and support to help them succeed,” said Ashwin Ravichandran, Portfolio Advisor, MEST Africa.
MAC 2024 attracted applicants from key markets in the West African Region including Benin, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Togo. Six standout finalists were selected to pitch their groundbreaking agricultural technology solutions, all aimed at enhancing productivity and sustainability in the region.
SAYeTECH won the grand prize for its innovative agricultural machinery tailored to African conditions, securing $50,000 in equity funding to scale its operations.
Led by Theodore Ohene-Botchway, SAYeTECH is a product and service-oriented company that designs and builds agricultural machinery suited for African conditions and use with a mission to provide access to affordable and easy-to-manufacture and maintain farm machinery products and designs suitable for African conditions and use.
Its premier product is the multi-crop thresher, which significantly reduces human drudgery in the threshing phase. It is a simple machine fitted with smart monitoring devices that successfully separates grains from cereals plants. It is 60 times faster than manual threshing, reduces post-harvest losses by up to 35%, and increases farmers’ income by 50%. Additionally, it can thresh most of the cereal crops grown by smallholder farmers in Africa.
The company also offers on sale agricultural machinery such as dryers, mixers, poultry feed assembly, juice extractors, and many others. They also provide general computer-aided design services to companies and other manufacturing institutions.
“The funding will enable us to scale production and reduce delivery lead times, providing smallholder farmers with the equipment they need to increase productivity,” said Ohene-Botchway.
West Africa is experiencing a surge of agritech innovations that are reshaping the farming landscape. With a focus on enhancing productivity, sustainability, and market access, these technological advancements are empowering farmers, improving food security, and bolstering economic growth.
As MEST continues to deepen its influence on Africa’s tech startup landscape, the MEST Africa Challenge remains the continent’s premier pitch competition for emerging tech entrepreneurs. The competition is designed to provide the ideal environment for tech innovators and startups to grow and succeed.
MEST Africa is committed to creating wealth and jobs in Africa by fostering digital skills, supporting startups, and providing access to global networks.