Peellnnova Limited Company, a student-founded startup from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi continues to make waves both locally and internationally with its innovative mosquito-repelling products made from fruit peel and wood waste.

The Ghanaian health-focused venture has won a string of prestigious awards this year, including a bronze medal at the SDG Summer School in Geneva, winning project for the National Hult Prize competition, and the Enactus Ghana National Championship, where the team represented Ghana at the global finals in Thailand.

Peellnnova is also among the top seven finalists of the Fidelity GreenTech Innovation Challenge, taking place at the University of Ghana.

Peellnnova’s journey began at KNUST under the coordination of Prof. James Osei Mensah, Faculty of Agriculture and Miss Nadia Ali; Programs Coordinator for KIC-KNUST.

The team, comprising Gilbert Sonny, Nafisah Hamidu Dauda, Enoch Siekaah, and Benedette Naame, developed the idea during the Kosmos Innovation Center Classic Competition and later won a grant of ¢5,000.00 and $2,000 for market research, prototyping and validation.

The team was led by Prof. Samuel Sakyi; Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Pathology to Geneva for SDG Summer School Challenge, an innovation challenge organised by the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative and the University of Geneva.

The programme brings together university students from across the world to design and test solutions that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Their project, Peellnnova, turns orange and pineapple peels, as well as wood waste, into affordable and eco-friendly mosquito-repelling products.

The innovation not only helps combat malaria and other vector-borne diseases but also reduces waste pollution, supporting a circular economy.

Representing KNUST and Ghana, the team showcased their work at the SDG Olympiad 2025 in Geneva, where they joined student innovators from over ten universities to pitch their solutions to an international jury.

Through innovation, sustainability, and social impact, Peellnnova reflects KNUST’s vision of nurturing problem-solvers whose ideas contribute to Ghana’s development and the achievement of the global SDGs.