Peellnnova, a student-founded startup from the ALBATROSS partner Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), is rapidly gaining national and international visibility and positioning, thanks to its innovative mosquito-repelling products made from fruit peel waste and wood residues. After winning the bronze medal at the SDG Olympiad 2025 in Geneva, Peellnnova emerged as one of the top winners of the GreenTech Innovation Challenge 2025, receiving ₵100,000 to further develop and scale their solution.

Peellnnova’s journey began as an idea to tackle food waste and malaria in Ghana has grown into a promising tangible solution at the intersection of public health, environmental protection, and circular innovation.

Ghana produces more than 300,000 tonnes of fruit waste each year, while malaria continues to affect over 240 million people globally. By transforming fruit peel and wood waste into eco-friendly mosquito-repelling products, Peellnnova addresses both challenges at once, promoting cleaner environments and healthier communities. They transform fruit peel waste into eco-friendly mosquito-repelling coils, promoting cleaner environments and safer, healthier communities.

Product prototyping was carried out by the multidisciplinary PeelInnova team, drawing on expertise in herbal medicine, engineering, planning, and linguistics. Community and farmer engagement was central to the process, with three training sessions conducted for farmers and product samples donated to schools to gather user feedback, resulting in a 75% positive response.

The team is now working to obtain the product certification and identify a production site to finalise the product. Similarly, they are also looking for partnerships with the Ghana health ministry. “Step by step, malaria will become a thing of the past even in Africa”, states Nafisah Hamidu Dauda, Pellnova Team Member.