Founder spotlight: Kwaku Owusu Twum wins Velocity Pitch Competition in his first semester
Kwaku Owusu Twum’s (PhD and MBET in progress) entrepreneurial journey from Ghana to Waterloo is nothing short of inspiring. Alongside his co-founder, Daniel Buston Yankey, Twum is building Mapmate, a digital platform transforming the agricultural landscape for small-scale farmers.
“Growing up, I was exposed to how climate variability can shape our lives, especially in terms of food production,” Twum recalls. “In developing economies like Ghana, climate fluctuations significantly affect food security, often putting a strain on local communities.” It was this concern and a love for anything technological that led him to pursue a degree in planning and geo-information science, with a focus on creating solutions to improve food systems.
Before coming to Waterloo, Twum had already gained experience in the food and manufacturing industries, as well as in land management consulting in urban and rural communities for mining, manufacturing and the service sectors.
However, he felt a need to translate his experience into something more meaningful. “I was looking for an opportunity to attend a school that could help grow and scale my potential,” he explains. Waterloo’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem and reputation for experiential learning made it the perfect fit. Twum is completing an Entrepreneurial PhD Fellowship at Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business.
