Ignitia Ghana and partners endorse climate intelligence solutions to address socio economic challenges

Ignitia, a tropical weather forecasting company, and its partners as part of efforts to address climate crisis in the continent has introduced a climate intelligence solution to give accurate weather forecast ranging from 48hr rainfall forecast to monthly and seasonal predictions.

The partners Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC), Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), and International Trade Centre-Netherlands Trust Fund 5(ITC-NTF ) aim to address the problem of low accuracy weather forecast in the tropical regions.

By using its atmospheric physics-based numerical predictions, the company delivers hyper-local forecasts that are twice as accurate as global models.

The initiative, dubbed ‘From Thunderstorm Predictions to Brainstorming Climate Smart Agriculture Solutions’, these daily forecasts will be delivered via SMS, WhatsApp, smartphone apps, web, and APIs sent across a range of different time scales,

Kwabena Frimpong, Regional Director for ignitia Africa, explained that this year’s hackathon received over 200 applications from young innovators and tech enthusiasts across Africa.

According to him, selected participants explored and presented innovative solutions to address climate change and market concerns, which would contribute to positive and sustainable development across the continent.

“This year’s hackathon featured seven emerging technologies for building climate resilience and adaptation, including crop management and smart water management for farmers, flood management system, creating a decentralized platform where investors, both local and global can participate in funding agricultural initiatives, early warning system for flood prevention, disaster risk reduction-solutions and  mobile application designed to empower rural farmers by providing easy access to weather-based micro insurance” he stated.

Mr Frimpong said participants were taken through project pitching training and mentorship sessions to further validate their ideas towards meeting the innovation challenge aimed at addressing relevant SDGs such as Zero Hunger and Climate Action.

This he said served as an opportunity for developers, innovator communities, and young innovators across the continent to demonstrate the power of partnerships and to build innovative digital solutions ready for quick implementation and can give immediate results to build Africa’s climate change resilience.

“We hope that the significant technologies or solutions that emerged from this 2023 hackathon will be put to the service of our dear nation and the world at large” he added.

Deputy Director, Science, Technology & Innovation at MESTI Nashiru Salifu, in his speech, opined that initiatives like these were good to help mitigate the climate crisis.

He said it was worth mentioning that, whilst innovative ways were being explored to solve the climate crisis, new economic activities were designed in the interest of Ghanaians and the world at large.

Meanwhile, Executive Director, KIC, Benjamin Gyan – Kesse explained that African youth hold the key to realize the potential contributions of digital technologies to climate change adaptation in Africa.

“The innovative ideas presented here today provide ample evidence of this potential and it’s time to support the youth by incubating and upscaling their solutions to turn their potential into actual climate change adaptation actions” he added.

In her remarks, Partnerships & Project Officer, Grow For Me Ltd, Annabel Sefakor Agbanu said the youth of today was the solution the world was waiting for to deal with the current crisis across the globe.

“I believe that the design of the hackathon is a true expression of tech and science diplomacy with solutions co-created by youths from different countries in the continent addressing local, regional challenges with global relevance towards climate change” she said.

National Project Coordinator in Ghana for the International Trade Centre – Netherlands Trust Fund 5, Isaac Newton Acquah, applauded ignitia Ghana for its hands-on engagement in allowing young innovators to be more creative and explore solutions that leverage digital technologies for offering alternative solutions to climate resilience through cross-border understanding of climate change challenges.

Strategic Partnerships Manager of ignitia, Theresa Fehle said  she was impressed by the diverse and inclusive thinking from the students while using the opportunity to thank ignitia Ghana and their partners for the 2023 Climate Tech Hackathon.