Arthur Waser Program Equips Students to Build Practical Engineering Solutions

Center for Entrepreneurship News, SDG-4

Arthur Waser Program Equips Students to Build Practical Engineering Solutions

January 29, 2026
By University Communications

Over eight weeks, eight student teams from the Arthur Waser Solar & Mechatronic Innovation Program progressed from early concepts and prototypes to user-informed engineering solutions. Supported by the Arthur Waser Foundation, the program is an applied engineering initiative designed to help students test and improve early-stage solar and mechatronics projects beyond the classroom.

Delivered through the Ashesi Center for Entrepreneurship, engineering faculty advisors and industry practitioners worked closely with teams across the Idea → Project stages of development. Students were challenged to interrogate assumptions, make informed technical and design trade-offs, and test their ideas against real users and operating constraints. This approach encouraged careful technical work and practical decision-making, leading to more refined and viable designs.

Project Snapshots

AutoCut
Emmanuel Gyan ’25 developed AutoCut, an automated fabric-cutting machine designed to improve productivity and minimize fabric waste for fashion businesses in Africa. The project entered the program at the prototype stage and has progressed through improvements in system design, along with a clearer definition of its target users and value proposition. “Through mentorship and seed funding, I improved precision and energy efficiency and developed a full-service model,” Emmanuel shared. He is now working toward a more robust, commercial-grade iteration suited to Ghana’s fashion manufacturing.

TillMate
Led by Kofi Amosah ’24, TillMate is a compact, autonomous tilling machine designed to make land preparation more affordable and accessible for smallholder farmers. As the project advances, TillMate is moving toward a field-ready version focused on reliability, ease of use, and sustainable deployment in smallholder farming contexts.

Todoke
Todoke is a solar-powered e-bike charging and delivery solution designed for use on Ashesi’s campus. Built by Allen Kpentey ’24, the project has expanded and now includes a solar-electric vehicle concept and a digital ordering platform. Allen and his team are now focused on implementation on campus, including deploying a charging station and steadily expanding the e-bike fleet.

KilimoChills
Tracy Achieng ’26 built KilimoChills, a solar-powered cold storage container designed for market vendors in Kenya. “We refined our design to be energy-efficient, durable, and affordable, while learning to communicate its value clearly to vendors,” Achieng reflected. The next phase focuses on reducing post-harvest losses while remaining sensitive to cost and operational realities, in preparation for wider deployment.

“The initiative gave students practical insight into what it takes to build early-stage projects that can hold up beyond the classroom,” faculty advisor Bright Tetteh shared. “Students learned budgeting and resource planning, operating with discipline, making strategic trade-offs, and designing solutions that are viable both technically and commercially.”