Ghanaian youth entrepreneur Fareeda Mustapha, co-founder of PureLube Ghana, has won the Impact Award at the 2025 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize in Dakar, Senegal, alongside three other innovators.
PureLube transforms waste into opportunity by producing eco-friendly lubricants (grease) made from cashew nut shells, helping to reduce reliance on costly imported lubricants.
The company drives local cashew value addition, creates jobs, and ensures smooth-running agricultural machinery.
Founded in 2024, PureLube aims to become the leading provider of accessible, high-quality cashew-based grease for mechanics, dealers, farmers, and factories. Its products enhance machinery performance and also stand out from conventional grease by prioritising sustainability and quality.
“I’m still taking in the experience at the AFS Forum in Dakar, Senegal, where I had the chance to present PureLube at the GoGettaz Africa Grand Finale (Agripreneur Prize Competition).
“To my amazement, I walked away as one of the IMPACT Prize winners, receiving my award from Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation,” Fareeda Mustapha shared in a social media post.
“This wasn’t a journey I walked alone. The support I received was overwhelming, from the Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) Ghana team, my PureLube team, my family, and so many Ghanaian friends who kept pushing me to give my very best,” she said.
“This journey showed me the power of community. Ghana truly has platforms and people who lift others up, and for that, I’m deeply grateful,” she added.
In May this year, PureLube emerged as the top winner of the 2025 AgriTech Challenge Pro in Ghana, walking away with a prize of $25,000 at the close of the two-day pitch competition hosted by the Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC).
The KIC congratulated PureLube on the latest award, saying it is proud of its achievement.
Earlier, Executive Director of the KIC Benjamin Gyan-Kesse praised Mustapha for her strong pitch at the forum before an international audience.
More on GoGettaz Awards
Each of the four Impact Award winners, including Mustapha, was recognised for delivering products and services with wide-reaching benefits in areas such as rural livelihoods, technology, job creation, natural resource management, climate resilience, nutrition, youth, and women’s empowerment. They each received US$15,000 to reinvest in their businesses.
The other awardees were Editha Mshiu, co-founder of Freshpack Technologies in Tanzania, whose portable AI-enabled cool-box extends the shelf-life of vegetables by 3–5 days; Daniel Wa Mukina, co-founder of DASEC SARL in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which manufactures agricultural machinery using recycled metal waste; and Faïçal Abdoul Wakil Palenfo, co-founder of Faso Elevage in Burkina Faso, who developed solar-powered incubators and brooders for rural farmers.
The Grand Prize went to Naglaa Mohammad, co-founder of P-Vita in Egypt, and Samuel Muyita, co-founder of Karpolax in Uganda. Each received US$50,000.
P-Vita created a patented fertiliser system using algae and recycled palm agri-waste, while Karpolax developed patented nanotechnology sachets to extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.
Winners were selected based on their innovation, social and environmental impact, market traction and potential, leadership, and business models.
The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition (GAPC), supported by AGRA, is held annually to spotlight innovative and promising agripreneurs aged 18–35 across Africa.
This year’s competition awarded US$167,000 to 13 entrepreneurs from 11 countries during the African Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Dakar, Senegal.
Hosted under the leadership of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, the forum carried the theme: “Africa’s Youth Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation.”
It brought together public and private sector leaders, policymakers, researchers, development partners, and youth-led enterprises.
Organisers highlighted that this year’s competition marked a milestone in geographic diversity, with first-time finalists from Algeria and Burkina Faso.
Competitors showcased tech-driven agrifood ventures using tools like artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, digital apps, satellite-based analytics, hydroponics, aquaculture, solar incubators, and recycled-metal machinery.
Amath Pathe Sene, Managing Director of the Africa Food Systems Forum, underscored the role of youth-driven solutions: “The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is a clear sign of where Africa’s agriculture is heading,” he said.
“Here in Dakar, we have seen young entrepreneurs who are not just dreaming about change, but building real businesses that improve incomes, create jobs, and strengthen food security. Their solutions show that young people are already leading Africa’s progress,” he said.