The young business owners entered ONE BY ONE, hoping to make a good first impression on the panel assembled by Absa and the Mastercard Foundation.
The majority of these entrepreneurs were from Ghana’s Fintech and Agritech industries, and they each had a 15-minute presentation slot to prepare the best pitch of their careers.
The conference space on the third level of the Absa Mastercard Foundation offices at Ridge in Accra was dominated by the presentation’s enormous digital screen.
The PowerPoint slides were ready to start playing as the projector’s light blinkered.
Few weeks ago, the pitch for the Absa-Mastercard Foundation Fintech-Agritech Support Program took place here.
The Mastercard Foundation and Absa Bank have maintained a strong cooperation for the past three years in order to make a difference in the economy of Ghana, particularly in the SME, Fintech, agritech, and other related sectors.
The project, which is sponsored by the Absa Mastercard Foundation collaboration, aims to assist young businesses who are developing and producing new items to boost Ghana’s economy.
The event offers a one-of-a-kind chance for entrepreneurs looking for funding to argue their cases before five feisty business and corporate executives.
Businesses in the Fintech and Agritech sectors can use the program’s GH2.5 million support to increase their capacity and make them long-term viable.
Also, firms leveraging technology to enhance financial services including loans, payments, insurance, investments, and education are among the businesses that the GH2.5 million support is aimed at (financial literacy).
Businesses must be older than three years old, technologically advanced, and have proprietors between the ages of 24 and 40 to qualify.
An interesting spectacle was the pitch session. It captured the general feeling of exhilaration and eye-opening changes occurring in Ghana’s vibrant incipient period.
The presenters were interrogated and forced to fully defend their assertions on their products’ end-to-end energy, effectiveness, and budget as well as whether they had passed the Bank of Ghana’s nonsupervisory sandbox test.
“We strongly believe in the potential of Ghanaian startups – including tech startups, MSMEs and others – to drive sustainable economic growth. We consider it an important social responsibility to support these businesses and provide them with adequate capital and are pleased to have a willing partner in the Mastercard Foundation,” said Audrey Abakah, Head of SME Banking at Absa.
This initiative focuses on the potential of digital technology and innovation to transform lives and create an enabling environment.
During the pitching session, innovative concepts including automating manual labor, digitalizing agriculture, and leveraging robotics to increase productivity and multitasking were all sold. Additional examples included organic fertilizer spraying using drone technology and precision agriculture.
In Ghana, the Absa/Mastercard Fintech-Agritech program has completely changed the landscape. It is evidence that technology can be an effective tool for change and should be used to promote young empowerment and sustain economic prosperity.
The Absa/Mastercard Fintech-Agritech program has significantly altered the environment in Ghana. It is proof that technology can be a powerful vehicle for change and ought to be employed to support young people’s economic empowerment.
The Absa/Mastercard Foundation Fintech-Agritech Assistance program is a pioneering industry initiative that opens the door for young entrepreneurs to revolutionize Ghana’s industry and economy in a world where innovation and technology drive growth and development.