By: Isatu Yollah Bangura, Intern
EntoTech Innovations has won the President Bio Innovation Award after developing a system that converts cassava peels and other crop residues into organic fertilizer and protein for poultry and fish farmers.
The company, founded by Mohamed Saviour Samu, received a US$30,000 grant through the President Bio Innovation Award after responding to a 2025 challenge by SL Innovates asking young Sierra Leoneans what they would build for the country.
Through the project, EntoTech uses Black Soldier Fly technology to process agricultural waste that would otherwise be left to rot into useful agricultural products.
The project was showcased this week at the Njala University Living Lab in Taiama, where the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation presented the progress made since the grant was awarded.
The grant has supported the establishment of a three-acre production site at Four-Mile, near poultry farmers, as well as an Insect Village, a facility designed for breeding Black Soldier Flies.
EntoTech currently has about five tonnes of organic fertilizer ready for the market, while more than 300 kilogrammes of insect-based protein has been supplied to farmers for testing. The company also began sales on the day of the launch.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Stevenson K. Kamanda, said the initiative demonstrates how agricultural waste can be converted into valuable products.
“How can we turn something that is considered waste into something productive and valuable?” Mr. Kamanda asked at the launch.
The project forms part of efforts by the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation to support young innovators in developing their ideas into viable businesses.
Within a year, Samu and the EntoTech team have moved from presenting their
Idea to producing and marketing fertilizer and protein products.