The student panel met under the theme “Collaboration and Innovation for Food Security,” and was led by Augustine Opare of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Fellow panelists were Dr. Aziz Abdulai Adams of the University of Ghana, Mr. Aaron Tawiah Blagodzi of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Ms. Paulina Mwimwelle of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Mr. Patrick Adu-Amankwah of Ashesi University, and Mr. Stephen Akese of Koforidua Technical University.

The conversation examined how digital tools, partnerships across the agricultural value chain, and youth-led ventures can strengthen food systems in Ghana. 
 

Three student-led ventures also earned recognition from the innovation showcase. First place went to Eastside Sankofa, led by Aaron Tawiah of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development; Eastside Sankofa transforms surplus mangoes into nutritious, affordable, locally processed food products. Second went to BioGel, led by Innocentia Denyo of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, a biodegradable water-retention and soil-enrichment gel. Third went to Medaqua Feed, led by Pearl Ruth Elorm Ayivor of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development. They turn local by-products into nutrition for healthier fish and a cleaner environment.
 

The day’s centerpiece was a Problem Festival led by Dr. Anthony Ebow Spio, Senior Lecturer with Ashesi’s Business Administration department. Spio walked students through the Iceberg Model, a systems-thinking framework that pushes past visible symptoms toward the patterns, structures, and mental models that drive them. Working in groups, students applied the model to cases drawn from Ghana’s recent food-system pressures, including the Bagre Dam spillage, the squeeze on rice farmers, declining cocoa export revenues, and post-harvest losses. The task was to identify root causes and design long-term solutions that addressed those causes, not just their symptoms. For Tenejou, that frame is the one he is carrying back to Balacemart.