Across many farming communities in Ghana, post-harvest losses continue to affect productivity, incomes, and food security — particularly for smallholder rice farmers who often lose significant quantities of produce during threshing and processing. For many young entrepreneurs, these challenges are not just problems to observe, but opportunities to create solutions that can transform lives and livelihoods.
This is the story of Wobil Technologies Ltd. — an innovative agritech start-up emerging from Kosmos Innovation Center’s AgriTech Challenge Pro program and helping redefine agricultural mechanization in Ghana through locally driven innovation. In 2023, they progressed onto the 2-year business incubation program with KIC, where they continued to receive seed funding support, mentoring and coaching to grow and scale their business.
Driven by a vision to reduce post-harvest losses within rice-growing communities, Wobil Technologies developed a Multi-Stage Rice Thresher designed to improve efficiency in rice processing while minimizing waste for farmers. The innovation is helping smallholder farmers save time, reduce grain losses, improve productivity, and increase the value they derive from their harvests.
With limited resources and the desire to create impact, Wobil Technologies Ltd began from building a wooden version of the rice thresher before later upgrading it to the metallic Multi-Stage Rice Thresher, and currently solar-powered machines.
But beyond the machinery itself lies a deeper story of transformation — one that reflects the broader impact of investing in youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
Like many young innovators, the founders of Wobil Technologies started with an idea and the determination to solve a pressing challenge within their community. Through the support of Kosmos Innovation Center, they gained access to entrepreneurial training, mentorship, business development support, ecosystem exposure, and innovation opportunities that helped shape their vision into a scalable business solution.
Today, Wobil Technologies is not only contributing to agricultural transformation but also providing opportunities for employment, creating some 29 job opportunities, and driving innovation, and local enterprise development within the agricultural value chain. Aside job creation, Wobil Technologies has serviced over 1,200 smallholder rice farmers of which 32% are vulnerable women being empowered. To date, the company has threshed over 1000 metric tonnes of rice, thus saving farmers from over 46% losses.
Their work demonstrates how empowering young entrepreneurs can lead to practical, community-centered solutions capable of driving long-term economic and social impact.
“ The entrepreneurship training and capacity building we received at KIC has helped to shape our business,” explains John Wobil, co-founder and CEO of Wobil Technologies Ltd.
As Kosmos Innovation Center celebrates 10 years of impact, stories like Wobil Technologies reflect the organization’s role in creating systems that enable young entrepreneurs to thrive beyond incubation. Through its programs, KIC has helped build pathways for startups to access larger platforms, strategic partnerships, global networks, and growth opportunities that position them for sustainability and scale.
Wobil Technologies is one of 91 start-ups incubated by KIC since inception. Kosmos Innovation Center in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation under the Initiative for Youth In Agricultural Transformation program to train and equip the next generation of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agriculture sector to drive solutions that unlock growth barriers in key agriculture value chains and create work opportunities for young Ghanaian women and men. The partnership pushes for system-level changes that position Ghana as a continental demonstration of agriculture innovations suited to the African context.
The impact of businesses like Wobil Technologies extends far beyond individual success stories. Their innovations contribute to stronger agricultural systems, improved farmer livelihoods, reduced food losses, and more resilient rural economies. They are also helping shift perceptions about agriculture — showing that the sector can be modern, technology-driven, and full of opportunity for young people.
Over the past decade, Kosmos Innovation Center has continued to invest in young entrepreneurs whose ideas are transforming communities and industries across Ghana. Wobil Technologies stands as one of many examples of how innovation, mentorship, and opportunity can empower young people to become job creators, problem solvers, and drivers of systemic change within Africa’s agricultural sector.