Africa PachiPanda Challenge champions climate-smart startups: meet the winners

Across many African countries, the harsh realities of daily life can push young entrepreneurs to find better ways of doing things — sparking solutions that have the potential to transform communities.

Take changemaker Jean Blaise Seka. After his mother was injured in an accident, he saw first-hand how the lack of reliable cold storage for vital medicines in rural Cameroon could turn an already serious situation into a crisis.

This experience inspired him and Philemon Tebo to found WiseCool, a small enterprise using solar-powered refrigeration to keep essential medicines viable for longer in hot regions where electricity is scarce. 

Their green energy innovation earned them third place in the Africa PachiPanda Challenge — an initiative by the MTN Group and WWF that supports youth-led SMEs tackling pressing environmental challenges, from plastic pollution to sustainable agriculture.

Run in collaboration with partners such as GSMA, FNB, UNDP and Deloitte, PachiPanda is “designed to spotlight Africa’s next generation of environmental leaders and equip them with the tools, mentorship, and networks needed to scale their climate-smart solutions”.

The competition featured regional rounds in SA, Nigeria, Zambia, and Cameroon, with the top three winners from each country receiving up to $5,000. Finalists then competed in the grand finale for a $10,000 grand prize and additional mentorship and support.

A springboard to success

Platforms like PachiPanda are really important; they help you get access to funding to start and scale your business, says Nigeria’s Olabisi Rafatu Emmanuel, who won second place.

Her company, SussFlow Reuseable, tackles period poverty and reduces landfill waste with reusable feminine hygiene products. 

“When we entered the PachiPanda regional competition, we didn’t have a minimum viable product,” Emmanuel says. “It was the funds we received that helped us source materials and produce our first product, a reusable menstrual pad.”

On the back of this, Emmanuel was able to join the Orange Corners Nigeria Incubation Programme, through which she’s expanded her product range to include reusable period panties and menstrual cups.

“PachiPanda gave us validation,” she says.

Resilience is key

Cameroon’s Afopezi Moses and Justin Etogo were named the overall winners of the Africa PachiPanda Challenge for their project AgricFresh. 

Like WiseCool, AgricFresh makes use of solar-powered refrigeration technology — this time to extend the shelf life of the fresh crops grown by small-scale farmers in remote areas.

Moses says the idea came from watching his mother battle to preserve the produce she grew to help pay for her children’s education. “We noticed about 40% of her crops would go to waste.”

While AgricFresh’s solution makes sense, getting farmers onboard has not been easy. 

“The difficulty was the mindset of farmers,” says Moses. “Once they harvest their produce, it’s easy to just send it directly to the market. When we told them we had a better way to store it, they didn’t believe us.” 

Instead of giving up, AgricFresh shifted focus and decided to try target market traders. 

“Every single day, these wholesalers have [fruits and vegetables] in stock, which they don’t sell. So, they can use the cold storage to keep them [fresh].” 

Over time, Moses hopes the success with the market traders and continued outreach will shift the farmers’ mindsets.

This resilience is something Seka believes is crucial for budding entrepreneurs to succeed — many find it hard to push through or continue when financial returns are not quickly forthcoming. 

“When the money doesn’t come, you give up. And that’s why you see that only about 5% of start-ups in Africa succeed, or continue, after three years,” he says. 

“Entrepreneurs go in with the aim of making money, not with solutions to address community problems. So, I think people should adopt the mindset of looking for sustainable solutions [to the challenges people face on a daily basis].”

“Before the money, our main aim is to impact the community. When we impact the community, the money starts coming in.”

Plans to grow PachiPanda

Fungai Musana, chief external engagement officer at WWF Zambia, says determining the winners of the Africa PachiPanda Challenge was tough: “We believe the ideas born from this challenge have the power to drive meaningful, lasting change for communities and the environment across Africa.”

Marina Madale, executive for Sustainability & Shared Value at the MTN Group, echoed these sentiments. “The rigorous process of selecting the winners reflects our deep commitment to identifying truly exceptional talent — young innovators with the passion and ideas to drive real climate action.”

The mobile operator plans to expand PachiPanda, with the immediate goal being to add more countries to the mix.

“We aim to grow this platform into a launch pad for the next generation of climate entrepreneurs, catalysts for economic growth and job creation across the continent,” says Madale.

This article was sponsored by MTN.