After Theseus Development being one of the winners of the African Climate Innovation Challenge in 2023, Gertrude Akosah went on in December to present at the YouSustain Conference by Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) at the University of Ghana.
Reflecting on her journey and our shared enthusiasm for empowering women in STEM as we implement green concrete technologies in ways that truly solve the challenges builders face in developing economies I couldnโt be more proud. Iโm incredibly inspired by my friendโs progress, from pitching Theseus Development at the 2025 IMPACT FESTIVAL to winning the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) Audience Award.
Meet our ๐๐จ-๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ @theseusdevelop , ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐, pitching at the Impact Festival, ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ , as a finalist of the ๐๐๐๐ Innovation Challenge.
Weโre at the Impact Festival and the ISC3 Investor Forum, representing Ghana and pitching our green concrete interlocking blocks. Building the future of affordable, sustainable housing.
As part of our sprints with the ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ Youth Climate Innovation program, we tested our GreenBond zero-cement concrete at Ghana Standards Authority.
It meets non-load bearing strength, a step toward our upcoming ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ projects and certification.
Weโre excited to join the Industrial Innovation Cohort of the Third Derivative @Third_Deriv accelerator! ๐
As 1 of 31 startups tackling decarbonization in steel, cement & chemicals, we look forward to scaling climate innovation globally! ๐
More info: https://t.co/9Z3JtFdJV0
Back in June, I was selected as one of the top five delegates to represent ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฒ, through the ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ at the One Young World Summit in Munich.
Grateful for how this reinforces our mission at @theseusdevelop to advance sustainable concrete in developing economies.
Looking forward to how this opportunity opens new paths for collaboration and innovation at ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.
As finalists of the @isc3centre Innovation Challenge 2025, focused on sustainable chemistry and climate change, weโre using sustainable chemistry to drive green concrete adoption and tackle Africaโs 160M+ housing deficit.
@RockyMtnInst Third Derivative, a global leader in transforming energy systems, highlights our work at @theseusdevelop on the future of sustainable concrete in Africa, and the pathways to scale through decentralization. ๐
Our team from Ghana ๐ฌ๐ญ represents Sub-Saharan Africa as one of four global startups in the Youth Climate Innovation Accelerator by @UNFCCC_CTCN & @Seedstars โ pushing sustainable concrete innovation forward.
Is our geopolymer only for construction?
Nope, Arc. Reuben & Venessa (Glassroot Innovators) are using it with recycled glass to craft indoor & outdoor products.
First mix design very successful. Excited to see how this opens new markets, cuts waste, and shows its versatility.
CDKN Ghana hosted the first set of potential awardees for the Climate Innovation Pitch awards, an initiative connecting bold climate entrepreneurs with funders, boosting visibility, and driving solutions that accelerate climate action.
Read more here: https://t.co/PjpvqgcZmz
Our geopolymer innovation, GreenBond, just won the Youth Climate Innovation Programme by @UNFCCC_CTCN & @Seedstars ๐
From 2,300+ applicants to 8 teams and we came out on top ๐๐พโโ๏ธ๐ฌ๐ญ
Big thanks to Joan, Sheilla & Valentin.
This is just the beginning. ๐ #ClimateAction
โ๐พ๐๐พ A key part of developing #GreenBond, our modular #geopolymer block system is controlling particle size for strength & performance
Weโre building in-house mills to process waste into binders.
Cuts emissions by 80%, waste by 70%, & builds faster.
๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ of full immersion, our geopolymer concrete masonry sample recorded just ๐.๐๐% ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Compared to concrete blocks currently on the market, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ร ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ-๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐พโโ๏ธ๐๐พโโ๏ธ
GreenBond and a new hammer need ๐ฅด๐๐พโโ๏ธ
More about the problem weโre solving here ๐๐พโโ๏ธ๐๐พ๐๐พ
https://t.co/uOcBk0eSk7
๐๐ We canโt wait to see the many many beautiful homes, communities, and inspiring projects youโll build with our GreenBond geopolymer interlocking blocks from @theseusdevelop !