Ghana - Business creation project

Décrivez votre projet en quelques mots

Verte Tower is an agritech project transforming farming in Ghana while meeting local energy demands using vertical farming systems on solar farms.

01.01 Décrivez votre projet en détail

Verte Tower establishes solar energy generating vegetable production centers where produce, mainly, greens, tomatoes and onions are cultivated in vertical systems using hydroponics in open fields. Nutrient and water are supplied with precision through IoT monitoring to the crops. The entire production center is shaded by solar houses for generating solar energy, collecting and recycling rainwater and attached to an outhouse energy station. These production centers can be replicated in diferent communities to grow crops. Verte Tower provides a holistic approach to maximizing the vegetables value chains in Ghana. What we are offering is yield improved 3-4 times to make available to mainstream markets, robust farming technology for smallholder farmers and energy supply to rural and urban homes. From farmer to consumer, our production centers ensure crop yield increase, food quality improved, communities are powered by renewable energy production with year-round employment for farmers.

01.02 Quel est le problème principal que vous essayez de résoudre ?

Verte Tower seeks to tackle food insecurity, unemployment and climate change while providing smallholder farmers the capacity to meet local demand to reduce Ghana's dependence on imported fresh produce. Extreme poverty and climate change makes every farming season a nightmare for smallholder farmers across various rural communities in Ghana. Farmers largely depend on aid from the government, social enterprises as well as on rainfall to cultivate their farms. These factors result in high unpredictability of yields from season to season. As a country, Ghana depends heavily on imports of fresh produce from neighbouring and Western countries due to the lack of capacity of local producers to meet nationwide demand. This worsens the threat of food insecurity and economic instability, especially in farming communities.

01.03 Dites-nous quels sont les principaux avantages et/ou bénéfices de l'utilisation du produit/service que vous souhaitez fournir par votre projet (au moins 3).

Benefits of Verte Tower cultivation leads to: 1. Increased yield of high quality fresh vegetables 2. Reduced carbon footprints from utilization of renewable energy and 3. Job security

01.04 Veuillez décrire précisément à qui s'adressera le produit/service de votre projet. Quels sont les bénéficiaires visés ?

Verte Tower targets smallholder farmers, agric-focused organizations and social enterprises, as well as households. Production and sale of fresh produce to mainstream markets and households is the target for every production center. The Verte Tower systems can be sold and maintained for smallholder farmer associations with payment made in installments. Assets owned by the associations make it easier to access credit for various business needs and improve the livelihoods of association members. Organizations looking to make impact on the lives of smallholder farmers are also targeted. The energy stations serve the needs of users of electronic devices in the general public such as mobile phones and potentially electric vehicles in both urban and rural settings.

01.05 Quand avez-vous commencé à travailler sur votre projet ?

09/02/2023

01.06 Combien y a-t-il de propriétaires sur votre projet en plus de vous ?

5

01.07 Parmi les autres propriétaires, combien sont des femmes ?

3

01.08 Veuillez décrire le profil des autres propriétaires de votre projet (compétences, expérience, etc.).

The team at Verte Tower consists of vibrant youth with cumulatively 20 years working experience in various aspects of social entrepreneurship, business development & finance and engineering; Chief Executive Officer who leads the vision and general operations with a track record of leading project teams for 6 years and fundraised close to $ 30,000 from funders such as the Ford Fund Chief Business Strategy Officer who lives and breathes numbers, worked in social enterprise and a multinational business strategy firm Chief Sustainability Officer is an environmentalist championing climate-friendly solutions with government agencies and startups. She ensures sustainable practices and compliance with environmental regulations. Chief Accounting Officer handles financial records, budgeting, financial planning and reporting Agriculture Engineer experienced in designing bio and mechano-engineering agric systems Administrator manages logistical operations to ensure smooth supply chain management

01.09 Si vous avez un site web, une page sur les médias sociaux (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin...) ou une application, veuillez fournir le(s) lien(s) ici :

01.10 Quel est le secteur d'activité qui décrit le mieux votre projet ?

l) Agriculture

02.01.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Pas de pauvreté'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.01.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Verte tower increases income by up to 4 times enabling customers and beneficiaries to fend for their families and improve their livelihoods. For youth and smallholder farmers, Verte Tower ensures a sustainable means of cultivating various crops without dependence on unpredictable climatic conditions. This reduces the seasonality involved with farming as we see in Ghana. Also, with robust farming systems, yield of crops is 3-4 times higher with the integrity of crops maintained raking in higher revenue for the growers. One production center at a time, Verte Tower boosts local economies and drastically reduces poverty.

02.02.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Faim Zéro'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.02.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Food security lies at the core of the work at Verte Tower. The most consumed vegetables in Ghana are tomatoes and onions and with increasing decline in supply of these commodities locally, the risk of complete scarcity is high. Over 13 million people in Ghana were recorded to be affected by food insecurity in 2022 with an expected steady increase based on widespread shortage experienced in the past two years. Verte Tower tackles this by providing robust farming systems to ensure maximum yield per every acre of land cultivated, increasing volume of produce by 4 times. This ensure availability of agricultural commodities, especially vegetables which are required to supplement the already highly carbohydrate based meals consumed. These ensure food security and improved nutrition, translating into better brain development, able-bodied manpower, improved productivity and economic development

02.03.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Bonne Santé et Bien Être'

4

02.03.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.04.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Éducaiton de Qualité'

4

02.04.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.05.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Égalité entre les Sexes'

6

02.05.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Some studies show an average of 40% women to 60% men involved in agriculture in Ghana. Verte tower targets a 50:50 ratio of female to male smallholder farmers employed at every production center owned and managed by the company. In the management team as well, capable individuals with a ratio of 2:1 female to male, strategically brought together to meet ambitious business and agriculture goals is a huge contribution to female empowerment and gender equality. At Verte we increase female representation not only in entrepreneurship but in agriculture and supply chain management, which are fairly male-dominated in Ghana.

02.06.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Eau Propre et Assainissement'

4

02.06.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.07.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Énergie Propre et Abordable'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.07.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Generation and use of renewable energy is the sole purpose of the solar farms at Verte Tower production centers. These houses are tent structures decked entirely of solar panels to harvest solar energy to be utilized in two ways: 1. Power the equipments for cultivation and processing at a production center and 2. Service stations for charging electronic devices such as the mobile devices of the locals and potentially, electric cars. These technologies make clean energy available and affordable in urban and especially rural areas, where there is little access to electricity.

02.08.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Travail Décent et Croissance Économique'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.08.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Close to 70% of farmers in Ghana are smallholder farmers, cultivating less than 3 hectares of land. Overdependence on weather and external support only worsens the already devastating seasonality of income with smallholder farming. Majority of farmers live on under $ 2 a day and can only fend for their survival. Verte Tower production centers enable all year-round cultivation and as such all year-round revenue generation. This improves livelihoods of the beneficiaries and increases economic evelopment.

02.09.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Industrie, Innovaiton et Infrastructure'

5

02.09.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

In the agricultural industry, Verte Tower revolutionizes vegetable production with the incorporation of robust and innovative vertical farming systems that are not the usual in-door utilized. Right in the open field, farmers can increase their yield by up to 4 times whilst providing the needed protection for farm beds during extreme heat conditions.

02.10.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Réduction des Inégalités'

4

02.10.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.11.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Villes et Communautés Durables'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.11.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Verte Tower provides a holistic step-wise approach to bountiful production of crops with the aim of improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The incorporation of energy stations which provide clean and affordable energy improves standards of living in every beneficiary host community. Sustainable farming and energy generation ensures continuity of improvement in livelihoods and provides an uphill trajectory of development in communities.

02.12.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Consommation et Production Responsable'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.12.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

Verte Tower ensures that resources put into cultivation are used efficiently. Our vertical farming systems make use of IoT to recycle water, majorly harvested from rains, throughout the system ensuring precise nourishing of the crops. Food produced from our centers are carefully managed with produce immediately dried, chilled or packaged wthin stipulated times post-harvest. This ensure that production takes place responsible, food reaches final consumers in highest quality and shelf-life is prolonged.

02.13.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Luttle contre les Changements Climatiques'

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

02.13.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

By reducing post-harvest losses through the efficient and sustainable production and processing of high quality vegetables, emissions associated with spoilage is drastically cut down. The vertical farming systems make use of recyclable plastic in some of its component and this helps to rid the environment of plastic and other waste. Verte Tower reduces post harvest losses and the resultant carbon footprints. We also champion the utlization and harvesting of renewable energy sources making every farmer utilizing our technology, every consumer of our produce and every customer at our energy stations a contributor to climate action.

02.14.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Vie Sous-Marine'

4

02.14.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.15.01 Mon projetp contribue à l'objectif 'Vie Terrestre'

4

02.15.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.16.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Paix, Justice et Institutions Efficaces'

4

02.16.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

02.17.01 Mon projet contribue à l'objectif 'Parteneriats pour la Réalisation des Objectifs'

4

02.17.02 Justification de la contribution de mon projet

05.01 Il existe un grand nombre de clients qui utilisent déjà un produit/service très similaire à celui que nous envisageons de créer.

6

05.02 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer représente un type de produit/service entièrement nouveau

5

05.03 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer pourrait être décrit comme une nouvelle technologie

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

05.04 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer est une amélioration d'un produit ou d'un service existant

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

05.05 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer pourrait être décrit comme une extension d'une gamme de produits ou de services

5

05.06 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer répond à une demande ou à un besoin qui n'a pas été satisfait par d'autres produits/services.

7 - Tout à fait d'accord

05.07 Le produit/service que nous voulons créer est une nouvelle version d'un ancien produit/service

4

05.08 Justification de mon projet

Our mainstream value from all production centers is high quality food crops which are widely consumed by majority of the Ghanaian market. Verte Tower is innovating when it comes to existing systems of cultivation and production and further makes use of the production time to generate and make renewable energy available for use by the public. Our solar houses and harvesters as well as energy stations at rural levels are going to be new to the market. For the first time, the existing problems of yield and food insecurity in farming communities in the Eastern and Ashanti regions is being addressed by solutions from Verte Tower .

05.09 Qui sont vos principaux potentiels concurrents et qu'est-ce qui vous différencie d'eux ?

Existing farming practices and post harvest management companies may serve as competitors. Verte Tower makes use of a holistic sustainable approach to farming and so we manage majority of the levels in the supply chain of vegetable production

10.06 Menez-vous des actions au sein de votre communauté pour promouvoir le rôle des femmes entrepreneurs ?

Yes, this business venture