PODASH, a student entrepreneurial group from the University of Professional Studies, Accra has emerged winners of the 2021 DANSIC Global Business Challenge.
PODASH is made up of a trio of UPSA students who are also products of the university’s Business Incubator Centre. They are James Ayim Damptey, Princess Sherifatu Ibrahim and Eugene Elikem Agbo.
Their innovative ideas on utilization of cocoa pods was adjudged the “most compelling and interdisciplinary solution to recurrent challenges in a circular economy” at the final event held on 29th May 2021.
PODASH’s ingenious proposal to make use of these cocoa pods by creating a versatile soap from the dried cocoa pods was affirmed by the jury as a sustainable design that would reduce environmental pollution in cocoa growing areas, provide extra income for farmers as well as provide Ghanaians with affordable skin care products.
The DANSIC Circular Challenge is a digital case competition where students from Nordic or African universities are given the opportunity to deploy their knowledge and business acumen by creating solutions to advance the circular economy agenda. This year’s competition was themed “Circularity in Business”.
“We want to highlight that through this event DANSIC and its partners hope to bring forth the creativity, ingenuity and business acumen of both African and Nordic students, as they provide answers to real life business challenges,” a statement from the DANSIC website said as it announced the winners.
The Coordinator of the UPSA Business Incubator, Dr. Andrews Ayiku congratulated the team for their achievement. He said as a university that believes in churning out the next generation of global business leaders and social entrepreneurs, UPSA is committed to exposing its students to local and international business platforms.
This, Dr. Ayiku says, falls in line with the University’s vision of becoming a world class education provider in both academic and professional disciplines that is nationally entrenched, regionally recognized and globally relevant.
The business coach thus encouraged other students to join the entrepreneurship club or the Business Incubator to explore innovative business ideas or nurture their entrepreneurial acumen.
Team PODASH
Eugene Elikem Agbo is a fourth-year student pursuing Bachelor of Science in Accounting. His two colleagues, James Damptey and Princess Ibrahim are both Business Administration students in Levels 400 and 100 respectively.
The three student entrepreneurs came together to establish PODASH in 2019 during a pitch competition organised by the UPSA Business Incubator Centre. The group has since been under the mentorship of the centre, and participated in a few other competitions.
