From the First Cohort to a National Movement of women empowerment: Celebrating KIC @ 10

KIC started in 2016 with the Agritech challenge open to all. Then it thought of a women-focused capacity building to encourage more women entrepreneurs. In 2019, a group of young women walked into a training room at GIMPA facilitated by Kosmos Innovation Center with ideas, curiosity, and uncertainty about what the future held.

They were the very first cohort of the KIC Women Bootcamp.

At the time, agriculture wasn’t an obvious path for many young women. Some had never considered it as a business opportunity. Others simply lacked the support, training, and confidence to begin.

But that bootcamp changed everything.

What started as a single intervention has, over the past decade, grown into a powerful platform that has empowered hundreds of young women to build businesses, create jobs, and transform their lives.

Where Confidence Was Born

The KIC Women Bootcamp was designed to give young women practical skills in entrepreneurship, agribusiness, and innovation. Through mentorship, hands-on training, and real business development sessions, participants learned how to turn their ideas into viable ventures.

More importantly, they discovered their confidence.

Margaret Afriyie, a participant from the early cohort and now Co-founder of Dual Agro, recalls how the experience shaped her journey:

“The KIC Women Bootcamp helped me see myself differently. I stopped seeing my ideas as small and started seeing them as solutions. That experience gave me the confidence to build my business and believe that I belonged in the agribusiness space.”

Similarly, Akua Afriyie, now a staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, credits the program for helping her unlock her potential:

“Before KIC, I had the passion but not the direction. The Women Bootcamp gave me the skills, mentorship, and exposure that helped me turn my idea into a real business. It showed me that young women can lead innovation in agriculture.”

From Participants to Leaders

Over the years, many KIC Women Bootcamp participants have gone on to establish successful agribusinesses, create employment, and become role models in their communities.

Their success reflects the vision KIC had from the beginning, to invest in women as leaders of Africa’s agricultural future.

According to the Executive Director of KIC, Benjamin Gyan-Kesse:

“When we launched the first Women Bootcamp in 2019, our goal was simple, to create opportunity for young women. We are proud to see these women building businesses, creating jobs, and inspiring others. This is more than a program. It is a movement.”

Changing Mindsets, Creating Opportunity

The Women Bootcamp has also played a critical role in breaking stereotypes and expanding opportunities for women in agriculture.

Mercy Tuffour, Gender and Safeguarding Specialist at KIC, emphasized the deeper impact of the initiative:

“We have seen young women come into the program unsure of themselves and leave with confidence, clarity, and purpose. The Women Bootcamp is not just about business. It is about helping women discover their voice, their power, and their place in shaping the future.”

A Legacy Still Growing

As KIC marks 10 years of impact, the Women Bootcamp stands as one of its most transformative interventions.

What began with a single group of young women in 2017 has grown into a national platform that continues to empower the next generation.

Today, KIC Women are building businesses in food processing, agritech, climate-smart agriculture, and value addition. They are not waiting for opportunity. They are creating it.

And their stories send a powerful message to young women everywhere: With the right support, belief, and opportunity, anything is possible.

Because when women rise, they don’t just change their own lives.

They change the future.