MinoHealth AI, Aurum Institute, and Degas Ghana secure grants to catalyze equitable artificial Intelligence use.
The Gates Foundation has awarded two Ghana-based startups and a healthcare research organization grants for the Grand Challenges on Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence Use initiative.
The initiative will make three-month grants of $100,000 to support projects to build tools using large language models to build an evidence base specifically targeting under-resourced communities in low- and middle-income countries. Organizations selected from a pool of 1,300+ proposals include Aurum Institute, MinoHealth AI, and Degas Ghana.
- Aurum Institute will develop an AI-powered decision support tool for antibiotic prescribers to improve appropriate antimicrobial usage and combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Ghana. Nana Kofi Quakyi will lead the project.
- MinoHealth AI Labs will leverage a multimodal Large Language Model to generate accurate and comprehensive medical reports based on the analysis of medical images to reduce the need for manual reports and enhance diagnostic capabilities for radiologists and clinicians. The principal investigator is Darlington Akogo.
- Degas Ghana will apply AI technology to support African smallholder farmers in implementing more climate-adaptive and regenerative agricultural techniques, such as crop diversification, and scale climate action across the continent. Floris Sonnemans will lead the project.
Source: Global Grand Challenges
Ghana’s Infinet Wallet selected for Techill’s Fifty Founders Battle in Millan.
Infinet Wallet, the fintech startup, has been selected for the 2023 Techchill Fifty Founders Battle in Millan. With over 300 entries from 30+ countries, the company is the sole African startup selected for the competition.
Founded by Abukari Wunpini Alhassan and Richard Somda Jnr in 2022, Infinet Wallet is a remittance platform that makes sending money across borders more accessible. It enables instant and low-cost global money transfers. The startup also provides convenient NFC(near-field communication) cards for contactless payments at point-of-sale systems, making transactions faster and more secure.
Fifty Founders Battle is TechChill’s annual pitch competition for early-stage startups. Fifty semi-finalists will present their business ideas to 100+ investors, 30+ international journalists, and other attendees. The semi-finalists will battle for the main prize of €10,000 with no strings attached and up to €100,000 investment from EDEN Ventures, among other prizes.
Source: Techchill
Mineral Investment Income Fund to invest $32.9m in Atlantic Lithium.
Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has entered into a non-binding Heads of Terms with Atlantic Lithium, the African-focused lithium exploration and development company targeting to deliver Ghana’s first lithium mine to invest a total of US$32.9 million in the company and its Ghanaian subsidiaries. MIIF’s proposed investment will support the development of the Atlantic’s flagship Ewoyaa Lithium project and the broader Cape Coast Lithium portfolio in Ghana towards production.
The MIIF will invest US$27.9m in Atalntic’s Ghanaian subsidiaries(Barari DV Ghana, Green Metals Resources Moda Minerals and Joy Transporters) to acquire a 6% contributing interest in the Ghana portfolio, including the Ewoyaa Lithium Project. The contributing interest will be funding for development, exploration and studies expenditure.
MIIF will also subscribe for 19,245,574 Atlantic Lithium shares at US$0.2598 per share, for a value of US$5m that will be held in escrow, equating to 3.05% of the total issued share capital of the company.
Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, said, “Our investment highlights Ghana as arguably the best mining investment destination in Africa because of the options MIIF provides investors. For us at MIIF, this is the start of a partnership with Atlantic Lithium beyond Ghana. We are confident that this initial investment will enhance and accelerate Ghana’s efforts as an African critical minerals hub and establish the country’s position in the global EV supply chain.”
Source: Atlantic Lithium Ltd
Agrimercarb wins the 2023 Israeli Green Innovation Competition.
AgriMercarb, the Kosmos Innovation Centre-backed agritech startup, has emerged as the 2023 Israeli Green Innovation Competition. The company competed against five startups to emerge as the winner of the competition. Wobil Technologies and Husk Technologies emerged as first and second runners-up, respectively.
As part of the winning pack, the company received a fully sponsored trip to Israel to participate in industry-related meetings and conferences to network and seek potential investors for business expansion.
AgriMercarb, a technology-enabled manufacturer of insect protein using black soldier flies for animal feed. The company produces high-quality, environmentally friendly animal feed that enhances growth, fosters health, and is resistant to frequent price swings. The company was founded by Luther Jesse Quarshie, and Emmanuel Acquah in 2022.
The Green Innovation Competition forms part of the annual Ghana Garden and Flower Show activities, organized in partnership with the Israeli Embassy and Ghana Garden and Flower Movement.
Source: BF&T
DEK Vaccines signs an agreement with partners to manufacture Oral Cholera vaccines in Ghana.
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), EuBiologics, and DEK Vaccines Ltd. (DEK) signed a memorandum of understanding at Ghana’s National Vaccine Institute, establishing a new partnership to support the fill and finish of the EuBiologics oral cholera vaccine (OCV) in DEK’s manufacturing facilities in Ghana.
IVI, a non-profit international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, developed OCV and holds the intellectual property for the vaccine, transfers the technology to manufacturers worldwide. IVI has or is transferring OCV technology to six manufacturers, including EuBiologics, now the largest producer of OCV and will be the only supplier to the global health market by the end of the year.
IVI and EuBiologics plan to transfer OCV fill and finish technology to DEK through this new tripartite partnership, enabling domestic production, purchase, and sales of OCV. Additionally, the MoU outlines further collaborative activities, including support for OCV clinical trials in Ghana and other African countries, sufficiently scaling up vaccine production capacity, and gaining regulatory approvals.
Source: IVI
Foodtech startup Legendary Foods secures funding to industrialize its production and processing capabilities
Legendary Foods Africa has secured a growth equity investment from Baylis Emerging Markets, a leading African markets private equity firm, to accelerate its expansion plans. The startup has developed a unique, sustainable farming system that delivers a resource-efficient and accessible form of protein -palm larvae – with technology and farming systems in Ghana.
Legendary Foods’ vertical farm system avoids the deforestation practices traditionally used in palm larvae harvesting while ensuring the highest quality larvae. Palm larvae, traditionally widely consumed across West and Central Africa, are a highly nutritional source of protein, good fats, and many essential vitamins. Protein-rich foods like chicken and beef lack shelf stability, making them difficult and expensive to access. This means that many people, particularly in rural areas, lack sufficient nutrients like protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins, all of which larvae can provide in a shelf-stable format.
Commenting on the transaction, Ms Shobhita Soor, founder of Legendary Foods, said: “We have built the technology to farm a novel yet ancient livestock source that is highly scalable and delivers a densely nutritious protein source that can be adapted to a variety of products. Our next step is to industrialize our production and processing capabilities. We are thrilled to be joined by Baylis, who has extensive experience supporting the development of companies within the manufacturing and agri-processing sectors in the region.”
“Legendary Foods has developed a farming system that delivers unrivaled impact in the region,” said Franklin Amoo, Partner at Baylis. “We are extremely excited to partner with Shobhita, an exemplary woman entrepreneur and experienced manager. We are enthused to support the team at Legendary Foods as they continue to build operational efficiencies, increase the mechanization of the process, drive down unit economics, and build upscale “all while delivering immense value and impact.”
Source: Baylis Fund
