Students win ACT Award 2026 for project on Equal Trade Certification

The jury appreciated the team’s strong scientific foundation and mixed-methods approach. By combining literature research, expert interviews, and financial forecasting, the students developed a comprehensive analysis of compensation structures for female farmers in Ghana. The project stood out for its societal relevance and its practical recommendations for creating fairer and more sustainable supply chains.

How can global trade become fairer for the people at the very beginning of the supply chain?

The project focused on Ghana, where agriculture forms a vital part of the economy and provides livelihoods for millions of people. Yet despite the sector’s importance, many Ghanaian farmers - especially women - continue to face structural inequalities within global supply chains. While raw materials are produced locally, most profits are generated later through processing, branding, and retail, often outside producing countries. Climate change, fragmented supply chains, and unequal access to resources further increase the vulnerability of smallholder farmers.

At the heart of the project were Equal Trade Certificates (ETC), a concept developed by Africa in Motion to address these inequalities by creating fairer value distribution within international trade systems. Afropulse, a startup working with plant-based ingredients between Ghana and Europe, wanted to explore whether this model could realistically work in practice - and the ACT students were asked to investigate how.

Victoria Vargas Farias, Vivian Engels, Yu-Jung Ou, Simon Otte, Manon Neulas, Pauline Peeters were the six Master’s students behind this project. Using a PESTEL framework, literature reviews, expert interviews, and financial scenario modelling, they explored how Equal Trade Certificates could realistically be integrated into Afropulse’s business model. Beyond the research itself, the students also developed a business model canvas and marketing video to help translate the concept into a practical and actionable strategy.

The project did not just remain theoretical. According to Max Koffi from Africa in Motion, the report is already helping shape future plans: “We will use the ACT report in three ways: implementation in the Afropulse value chain, advocacy towards policymakers and investors, and scaling the model towards other sectors like cocoa and coffee. This ACT report turns Equal Trade from an idea into a real, actionable model.”