Agro-Link, an agriculture-based software developed by students of the Akenten Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), won the best pitch among various innovative ideas and products presented at the McDan Youth Connect held for the first time in the University.
The members of the winning team – Miss. Akua Adomako Boateng-Gyebi, Mr. Sumaila Ma-Aruf, and Mr. Peter Owusu Boateng, all Level 200 students of the Department of Information Technology Education (DITE), received a grand prize of GH¢10,000 and qualification to the semi-finals of the national McDan Youth Challenge.
The Agro-Link App provides prime solutions to the numerous challenges bedeviling the agriculture service sector. The App will particularly seek to bridge the farmer-consumer gap through targeted distributive mechanisms and ultimately reduce post-harvest food losses, which currently prevail at the harvesting, handling, processing, storage, and transportation stages.
About one-third of all food produced globally, translating to around 1.3 billion tons of food, are lost or wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
The lead presenter for the team, Miss Boateng-Gyebi, expressed optimism that linking farm produce to its potential consumers and businesses, including restaurants, via the Agro-Link App would weaken the factors that energise post-harvest food losses and their attendant food shortages and stabilise the cost of foodstuff.
“The App would largely address the transportation and storage challenges farmers encounter since consumers and especially businesses would have the capacity to transport the harvests to their warehouses for proper storage,” she explained.
The three-member panel of judges for the contest, commended the outstanding quality of the pitches, among which was the showcase of a rich diversity of innovative ideas in agriculture, sanitation, artificial intelligence, water resource management, and catering and hospitality industries. The judges encouraged participants to embrace their feedback and refine their concepts. They also urged them to explore new ways to turn their ideas into lasting solutions to real-life challenges.
There were several other winners on the day. Notably among them was the team led by Mr. Ansah Prosper, who pitched an automated water pump business idea. The McDan Group promised support of GH¢22,000.00 to enable the team to go into commercial production of the pumps. A Junior High School pupil who presented a building prototype to Dr. Daniel McKorley (McDan), Founder of the McDan Group, earned an education scholarship, and a primary school pupil who sketched Dr. McKorley was instantly presented with US$200.00 for his efforts.
In a post-pitching interview, members of the winning team expressed happiness, and the confidence to improve the App and their presentation skills to navigate the semi-final stage to the grand finale. Ms. Boateng-Gyebi described the victory as motivation that can bring Agro-Link to life. Her colleague, Peter, said the victory would spur them on to surmount all challenges they may encounter in their entrepreneurship journey, and the other team member, Sumaila, was grateful for the opportunity for the team to display the outcome of their concerted effort.”
The March 27, 2025 event marked the maiden McDan Youth Connect programme at AAMUSTED. In attendance were Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick Kwaku Sarfo; Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Boateng, Registrar, Mr. Augustus Kwaw Brew, Director of Finance, Dr. Jeff Danquah Boakye, and other Management Members, Staff, Students, Members of the AAMUSTED Alumni Association, and the general public.
