Meet the four Entrepreneurs. 

Laila Lulu Hijazi’24 – Founder, Laila’s Cakes
Laila Lulu Hijazi leads Laila’s Cakes, an upcoming bakery brand dedicated to making high-quality baked goods accessible to all. When she joined, her business was still a budding venture. 

“Before, my business was still small; in fact, I didn’t even have a single employee,” she shared. “With the guidance of my coach, I was able to hire workers, and that bold step helped me increase my sales.”

The investor pitch came with a lot of lessons for Hijazi; She learnt that growth takes preparation, structure, and the courage to keep learning. With the funding received, she intends to open a second branch as part of her seven-year growth plan. 

Kofi Ocloo’05 -Founder, Ndogbe Sprout 

Kofi Ocloo’05, founder of Ndogbe Sprout, runs a social enterprise that supports smallholder farmers in reducing post-harvest corn losses. He joined seeking to strengthen and scale his operations. 

“The support I received was a real confidence booster. I felt like I had a strong backbone and never felt alone,” he shared. Kofi noted that the program helped bring structure to his business, particularly the sessions on finance, which clarified how to manage resources and plan for sustainable growth. “The investor pitch also gave me a deeper understanding of my venture’s potential,” he added. Emphasizing the value of diverse feedback from the judges, Ocloo plans to acquire two additional dryers for processing corn and extend his business model to new farming communities.

Salia Abdallah’24-Founder, Farmitecture
Salia Abdallah’24, founder of Farmitecture, leads an agritech venture that helps urban households and businesses grow vegetables in compact spaces using locally manufactured vertical farming systems. Before joining, Farmitecture had only one prototype and no clear pathway to scale. 

“When my team was entering, we had barely sold anything,” Abdallah said. “Now, we’ve moved from a prototype to serving customers and generated over GHS 180,000 in revenue.”

The investor pitch, he noted, reshaped his outlook, revealing how clarity of vision can open new doors. With the funding, Abdallah and his team plan to expand operations and build partnerships to make Farmitecture a widely adopted provider of urban farming systems. 

Amanda Edinam Ahiardomey-Founder, Summer Skin 
Amanda Edinam Ahiardomey, founder of Summer Skin, embarked on her journey in 2022, driven by a personal quest for effective, natural skincare solutions. 

“Summer Skin was just a dream, an idea sitting on a Google Doc because it hadn’t yet become a reality,” she shared. After her first attempt failed, Amanda joined to rebuild her confidence and gain the skills to sustain her business.
“I joined to learn how to run my business without failing this time,” she said. The investor pitch provided a valuable learning experience for Ahiardomey. “I had never pitched to investors before”, she noted, “and this became the opportunity to communicate my vision with confidence.”