Iddi Mohammed Faried

Dr Iddi Mohammed Faried is a Ghanaian biomedical scientist and the co-founder and chief executive of Kodu Technology, a social enterprise that makes biodegradable sanitary pads from banana and plantain fibre.

Kodu Technology

Kodu tackles two problems at once. It turns agricultural waste into useful products, using banana and plantain fibre for sanitary pads and converting peels into organic glue, and it gives girls an affordable alternative to imported pads. The idea came from conversations with young women in the Northern Region who said they sometimes missed school because they could not afford sanitary products. Kodu's pad is certified by both the Ghana Standards Authority and the Food and Drugs Authority.

Recognition

In 2024 Faried won the grand prize of the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize, a pan-African competition for young agribusiness founders. In 2025 he won the NBPA Jumpshot Challenge. He uses these platforms to urge African leaders to invest more in youth-led innovation as a way to grow the continent's agribusiness sector.