During the crash course, students were trained in entrepreneurial tools such as Business Model Canvas, value proposition design, and enterprise formation. The hackathon then challenged student teams to apply these skills to develop solutions tackling food waste in households, hotels, markets, restaurants, and universities. Six prototype solutions were created, with prizes awarded to the top three: GreenPlateAI (AI for reducing university food waste), Eco-Order (wholesale inventory management app), and Ecobite (web-based food reduction platform). Other participants received recognition tokens.

The final day featured a field excursion to local agricultural enterprises, linking theory to practice. A total of 49 participants—40 students, 2 UPWR facilitators, and 7 JOOUST staff—enhanced their innovation and entrepreneurship capacity. The event strengthened EU-Africa collaboration, fostered practical learning, and established a strong foundation for JOOUST’s innovation nest, directly addressing food waste challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa.