GIJ Impact Makers: 26 people who shaped Ghana’s startup ecosystem in 2025 – Part 2
We are delighted to announce that Truecoco Managing Director, Freddy Lydford, has been included in Ghana Innovation Journal as a key impact maker who has shaped the Ghana startup Ecosystem in 2025.
“Building a scalable startup company in Ghana is a unique challenge. It requires more than just a great idea; it demands resilience, resourcefulness, and a distinct ability to execute in a complex market.
While the broader narrative often focuses on the hurdles—from funding gaps to infrastructure—there is a dedicated group of entrepreneurs, investors, and enablers who are consistently driving progress. These are the key players translating vision into reality, mobilizing capital, and keeping the sector moving forward.
For this edition of the Ghana Innovation Journal, we set out to identify and recognize these most impactful leaders in Ghana’s business ecosystem. Our goal was not to create a popularity contest, but to curate a functional map of the industry’s most effective operators. Our editorial team asked a single guiding question: “Does this person’s work create a multiplier effect for others?” We focused on individuals whose work in 2025 has had a tangible, positive impact on the growth of Ghana’s startup ecosystem.
To provide a clear view of how the industry functions, we have categorized these 26 leaders into four essential roles:
1. Rainmakers: The individuals or entities injecting capital and resources who provide the essential “water” for the ecosystem to grow.
2. Disruptors: Visionary founders and operators who are building scalable products, challenging the status quo, and driving innovation across industries.
3. Bridge Builders: The ecosystem architects including policymakers, hub managers, and community leaders who construct the necessary infrastructure, networks, and regulatory environments that allow startups to thrive.
4. Storytellers: Journalists, bloggers, and media platforms dedicated to documenting the journey, amplifying success stories, and critically analyzing the challenges within the ecosystem.
Disruptors: Visionary founders and operators who are building scalable products, challenging the status quo, and driving innovation across industries.
Freddy Lydford Founder & CEO, Truecoco
Freddy Lydford is proving that a company can simultaneously feed global supply chains and heal the planet. TrueCoco which started as a commodities aggregator and exporter has successfully layered a high-tech industrial engine on top of this traditional foundation to monetize agricultural waste. In 2025, the company installed Ghana’s first industrial-scale biochar kiln to process. The facility successfully issued its first verified carbon credits which were purchased by Swiss climate-tech leader Climeworks.
Lydford is now aggressively scaling this circular model. He is developing a new site in Takoradi, scheduled for production in March 2026. By partnering with major sawmills to source over 20,000 MTs of certified sawdust, this second facility is projected to sequester more than 16,000 MTs of carbon dioxide annually.”
