“We Came Back Stronger”: My Journey with Meldak Agro and KIC

In 2023, I stood on the KIC Agritech Challenge stage with hope in my heart and belief in our idea. My team and I had developed a solution we were passionate about — transforming cocoa pod husk, often discarded as waste, into a cost-effective alternative to maize in livestock feed. We called it Nutripod.

We believed it could reduce feed costs for poultry farmers and increase income for cocoa farmers. But we were evicted.

I still remember the silence after the announcement. The disappointment. The questions. Had we not done enough? Was our idea not strong enough? We didn’t even make it to the Traction Fund stage. For a moment, it felt like the end. But in that disappointment, something shifted. Instead of giving up, we decided to grow.

We went back to the drawing board. We studied the feedback. We refined our business model. We improved our product. We improved on our pitch. We worked harder than ever before.

In 2024, we returned to the KIC Agritech Challenge, not just with an idea, but with resilience. This time, we won seed funding. That victory meant more than funding. It meant validation. It meant growth. It meant that persistence pays off.

Today, Nutripod is helping poultry farmers cut feed costs by up to 50%. It is creating additional revenue streams for cocoa farmers. It is turning agricultural waste into economic opportunity. Our journey is proof that innovation is not always about getting it right the first time. Sometimes, it is about getting up again. The support from Kosmos Innovation Center went beyond the competition stage. The mentorship, guidance, and ecosystem gave us the confidence to return stronger.

As Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, Executive Director of KIC, often emphasizes: “At KIC, we believe setbacks are part of the entrepreneurial journey. What matters is resilience. When young innovators are given the right support and space to grow, they can transform challenges into sustainable solutions.”

Looking back, being evicted in 2023 was not a failure. It was preparation. Preparation for growth.
Preparation for refinement. Preparation for impact. Today, Meldak Agro is building a more sustainable livestock feed system, and this is only the beginning.

By Priscilla Ayiepoo, Co-Founder, Meldak Agro