Meet Hannah Appiah, CEO and Co-Founder of McHan Cosmetics. Hannah gained admission into KNUST through the Mastercard Foundation Scholar program, which enabled a young girl from a remote and rural community in Sefwi in the Western North region of Ghana, gain access to tertiary education to read BSc Statistics. In her third year of the program, she heard about the KIC AgriTech Challenge Classic Program and applied. She formed a team with other AgriTechies, called Eco-Husk Technology. Though this team did not make it to the 2023 KIC Classic Final Pitch, she persevered and made it into the Pro with her start-up called McHan Cosmetics (formerly McHan Organics).
McHan Cosmetics, founded in 2023, is a trailblazing enterprise dedicated to sustainable cosmetics. McHan specializes in transforming cocoa pod waste into premium cosmetic ingredients and eco-friendly mosquito repellents. After being selected for the AgriTech Challenge Pro, they performed creditably and won USD35,000 to scale up their business idea. The start-up currently works with about 14 farmers and has created 15 jobs. The company’s impact extends beyond Sefwi Wiawso, with 100 direct and 300 indirect jobs created across the Western North, Ashanti, Volta, and Eastern regions of Ghana.
They have also launched a sustainability initiative called Green Partnership Program an initiative designed to forge lasting partnerships with smallholder cocoa farmers, stakeholders, and local communities. This ambitious program aims to transform the lives of women, youth, and small holder farmers in Ghana and beyond while promoting sustainable development and environmental stewardship. In November 2024, Hannah Appiah graduated from KNUST with a Bachelor of Science in Statistics. “I am very excited about the future. Also, the skills and knowledge acquired in my Statistics program will help me to build strong business analytics and data management to grow McHan Cosmetics. I am very grateful for the Mastercard Foundation and KIC for this unique opportunity. I have a job and I’m self-employed as an entrepreneur.”