The highly anticipated 2025 National Demo Day competition took place on Friday, 15th August 2025 at the WAGMC Conference Hall , bringing together some of Ghana’s brightest young innovators from  various universities. The competition is part of the Student Venture Support Programme (SVSP) spearheaded by the Research and Innovation Directorate and sponsored by Imperial, Global.

  Engagement with Partners

Participating teams consisted of students from four University’s namely, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast and University for Development Studies, who were new entrants to the programme. Before the main event, SVSP teams, identifiable by the vibrant colors representing their respective Universities, gathered to meet with programme partners,  interacting with competitors  and engaged in a lively question-and-answer segment.

 The main event commenced with opening remarks from the Director of Research and Innovation, Prof. David Dodoo-Arhin who acknowledged the presence of key partners including Imperial Global, representatives of UG’s Digital Youth Village, faculty   and competing teams.  Prof. Dodoo-Arhin described SVSP as a flagship initiative that not only showcases student ideas but also has transformative power in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across Ghana’s tertiary institutions. 

The Pro Vice-Chancellor(Research Innovation and Development),  Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante  extended warm greetings from the Vice-Chancellor, who was away on official business. Highlighting the programme’s growth,  he noted that SVSP,  had expanded to three additional universities, with the University for Development Studies (UDS) joining as the latest entrant this year. Forty-two teams competed during the Pre-Demo Day stage of the competition to qualify for this national finale.

 Participating Teams

The 2025 National Demo Day featured a diverse array of ventures from across the particpating universities, each presenting innovative solutions in agriculture, health, technology, and consumer goods. With twelve teams competing for three prizes amounting to GHc100,000.00 including training and mentorship, the stage was set for a contest of invention and artistic delivery.

  The teams included:

• AbiJah Cosmetics (UCC): Female-led brand producing affordable, nature-inspired hair and skincare products.
• Agricom Assurance (UG): Digital platform offering insurance and financial services tailored to smallholder farmers.
• Eastern Freshaura (UG): Innovators developing natural fruit and vegetable coatings that extend shelf life and reduce chemical use.
• Fitroot Ghana (UG): Healthy snack company using underutilized Ghanaian superfoods like baobab and tigernuts.
• GenZ Solutionist (UCC): Creators of “KeepUp,” an intelligent accounting app for micro and small businesses with multi-language support.
• JESPARK Foods (UCC): Food innovators turning traditional foods into shelf-stable, nutritious products.
• Millbles Ltd (UDS): Agribusiness focused on millet value chain, creating nutritious millet-based products.
• Mushplus Agri-foods Ltd (KNUST): Producers of ready-to-prepare, nutritious mushroom-based porridge blends.
• Peellnnova Limited Company (KNUST): Social enterprise creating eco-friendly mosquito repellent products from agricultural waste.
• PureLube Ltd (UDS): Agribusiness making affordable, sustainable grease from cashew nut shells.
• TomaFresh Ltd (UDS): Startup focused on processing and preserving fresh tomatoes to reduce post-harvest losses.
• YARP Foods Ltd (KNUST): Cassava processing firm producing flour and biodegradable packaging materials to reduce imports and waste.

 The panel of independent judges featured distinguished professionals from diverse backgrounds, 

• Ms Paulina Adjei, an entrepreneurship / innovation advocate, and specialist in economic development.| SME
• Mr Solomon Adjei, business and youth development coach  and President of the Association of Ghana Startups
  Mr Seth Akumani is an innovation leader and digital transformation strategist

The programme was moderated by Mr. Ibrahim Kwame Asante, Founder of Significant International Training Systems (SITS) | Acting Deputy CEO, CSIR Technology Development and Transfer Centre (TDTC), Ghana

After an exciting period of spirited five-minute pitches from each team, followed  by questions from the panel of judges PureLub Ltd from UDS emerged winners of the 2025 Demo Day competition to receive the grand prize of GHc50,000.00. In second place was Fitroot from UG, with the prize of GHc30,000.00 and Justpack Foods in third place with GHc20,000.00

To complement the competition Prof Felix Asante   sponsored a fourth-place cash prize of GHc5,000.00 which was awarded to Mushplus from KNUST.  Judges also committed to  supporting the winners with their business ventures in obtaining Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Ghana Standard Authority (SGA) certification. and induction  into Association of Ghana Startups (AGS)  mentorship programme, along with other incentives for startup. 

The winning teams expressed their gratitude to sponsors and urged fellow entrepreneurs to persevere in their innovation journeys.

Closing

The 2025 SVSP National Demo Day underscored the extraordinary talent and entrepreneurial spirit among Ghana’s university students. By bridging academic innovation with practical enterprise development and leveraging strategic mentorship and partnerships, SVSP continues to empower the next generation of changemakers and business leaders.