EatSafe Innovation Challenge – Ethiopia and Nigeria

The EatSafe Innovation Challenge – National Pitch Competition for Nigeria was hosted on the 31st of August 2022, at the Providence Hotel, Lagos-Nigeria, where five finalists pitched their innovative food safety ideas to a group of Seasoned judges from the food safety, business and donor network. After a fierce competition, the judges announced the top three winners to represent Nigeria in Denmark.

The overall winner of the EatSafe Innovation Challenge, Nigeria is Ruth Ede. Ruth is the Business Lead for Scratop Nigeria Limited, a company that utilises and converts bio-waste into healthy soil food for rich fertilizer.

The 1st runner-up of the EatSafe Innovation Challenge, Nigeria is Tijjani Ali Lawal. Tijjani Ali is the founder of Farmspace Tech, an SME that supports small holder farmers & fresh food produce vendors in keeping their produce fresh through the use of cold-chain.

The 2nd runner-up of the EatSafe Innovation Challenge, Nigeria is Oyeyemi Fadairo. Oyeyemi is a Research Associate for Simplix Consulting. Their innovation uses tunnel solar dryers in removing excess water present in food to reduce spoilage.

The winners expressed their delight at being recognised for their innovative ideas around food safety and nutrition, while appreciating their mentor, Prof Olugbenga Ogunmoyela, for working with them to achieve better understanding of how their innovation fits into ensuring food safety in traditional markets.

The EatSafe Innovation Challenge – National Pitch Competition for Ethiopia was hosted on the 1st of September 2022, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among the five shortlisted finalists that went through the mentoring session, the judges announced the below finalists as the top three finalists to represent Ethiopia in Denmark.

In 1st Place is Helen Weldemichael. Helen is an Associate Professor at the Wolkite University. Her innovation seeks to advance the processing of a traditional Ethiopian dish, Kocho, by the design and development of processing equipment.

In 2nd Place is Binyam Kassa Engidasew. Binyam is the Technical Manager for ETALIM Trading PLC. His innovation seeks to use pasteurization and incubation during the process of fermenting milk to produce yoghurt.

In 3rd Place is Eyoel Legesse Arega. Eyoel is the Director of Food Manufaturing Business Unit at Ethio-Gabana Trading PLC. His innovation involves processing whole egg powder, which will also allow for easy-to-measure portions that can be applied in local Ethiopian stews.