On the edges of Ghana’s coastline, where the Atlantic tides meet long traditions of artisanal fishing, an age-old challenge still drags at the heart of daily life, manual fish net hauling. The work is intense, the tools basic, and the physical toll heavy. For many coastal fishers, it’s a daily reality shaped more by endurance than efficiency.
But that may soon change.
The Sustainable Mobile Aquatic Transport for Fishing (SMAT-FISH) initiative, jointly championed by Skittals Ltd and the Ghana Scholarly Society, has launched a national design challenge calling on Ghanaian innovators, engineers, students, and local problem-solvers to co-create a new kind of solution. One that brings ease where there’s struggle. One that speaks not only to efficiency, but to dignity.
At stake is the opportunity to design a mobile, low-cost, solar-powered mechanism that can assist Ghana’s coastal fishermen in pulling their nets to shore, reducing fatigue, cutting turnaround times, and improving safety and income.
A Call Rooted in Real Needs
The challenge is open to individuals and groups (with no limit to team size) and encourages co-development with fishing communities, ensuring that the final product reflects both local wisdom and technical imagination.
Participants are tasked with designing a solution that is:
- Affordable: using local materials wherever possible
- Mobile: easy to transport and share between farmers
- Durable: resistant to harsh marine conditions
- User-friendly: simple to operate without technical expertise
- Sustainable: powered by hybrid systems, especially solar PV
- Efficient: significantly reducing the time and effort required to haul catches to shore
Timeline and Submission Details
This is Phase 1 of the project (the design stage), which runs from August 1 to September 30, 2025. Participants must upload their final designs by 11:59 p.m., September 30, 2025.
Submissions can be made in any file format, including CAD designs, and must include a cover letter detailing the names of participants and individual contributions. Entries should be uploaded via the Skittals platform at: https://skittals.com/login
Awards and Incentives
The top entries will not only receive cash prizes, but also gain access to mentorship and further development opportunities:
- 1st Place – GHC 5,000 + opportunity to proceed to Phase 2 (Prototyping)
- 2nd Place – GHC 2,500 + technical mentorship
- 3rd Place – GHC 1,500
In addition:
- Winners will receive certificates of participation
- All other participants will receive official acknowledgement emails from the organisers
Rethinking the Future, One Net at a Time
The SMAT-FISH design challenge is more than a competition. It is a national invitation to rethink how Ghana’s blue economy can evolve, from coastlines burdened by tradition to coastlines buoyed by innovation.
At its core is a belief that those closest to the problem often hold the seed of the solution. Whether it’s a young engineer in Cape Coast, a tech student in Tamale, or a group of designers in Accra, the challenge is open to all who dare to think differently.
Behind the prize money and the deadline is a deeper question:
What would it mean if fishing in Ghana became safer, faster, and more sustainable, not through imported technology, but through our own ideas?
The sea has given so much. Now, Ghana’s innovators are being asked to give something back.
