What is GRAIN? The network that began with Ghanaian students in Japan

GRAIN, the Global Research and Innovation Network, connects Ghanaian students and researchers abroad with the Jospong Group of Companies, one of Ghana's largest business groups. Its purpose is to make sure research done by Ghanaians overseas does not stay on a shelf, but helps solve real problems at home: in sanitation and waste management, recycling, energy, agriculture, technology and public health.

The idea was born in Japan, from the meeting between the Jospong Group and Ghanaian students here.

It started at TICAD

In August 2025, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, was in Japan for TICAD 9, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, held in Yokohama. Ghana's government delegation had come to encourage Japanese investment in Ghana. Dr. Siaw Agyepong came with a different agenda.

Dr. Daniel Twum-Ampofo, then a GSU-Japan student member and now an alumnus, met him to pitch a business idea. From their conversation, Dr. Siaw Agyepong decided it was worth gathering the Ghanaian students in Japan, to find out how much talent and expertise Ghana had here. Caroline Awuye, then President of GSU-Japan, reached out to him, and together they decided to bring all the students together for one meeting.

Japan's universities are spread across the whole country, and travel costs are hard on students. Dr. Siaw Agyepong paid for every student's transport, and on 24 August 2025 Ghanaian students from different parts of Japan met the Jospong Group in Yokohama (Students Meet the Jospong Group).

From Yokohama to Ghana

The idea of GRAIN grew out of that meeting. To take it further, the Jospong Group invited GSU-Japan members to Ghana. From 27 to 29 October 2025, Caroline Awuye, Dr. Floret Maame Owusu, Nii Amarquaye Commey and Dr. Daniel Twum-Ampofo visited ten of the Group's companies in Accra, Kumasi and Kpone, to see how they work and where research could help (read about the visit).

On 2 January 2026, in Accra, the Jospong Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghanaian postgraduate students in seven countries: the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, Hungary and China. Caroline Awuye signed for Japan. Jospong sponsors and supports the network's work without managing it, and a dedicated coordinating office runs it independently (MyJoyOnline's report of the signing).

How GRAIN works

A GRAIN Coordinating Centre in Ghana works with country chapters, each led by Ghanaian students in that country. Every chapter has five officers:

• a Chapter President, who leads the chapter and is its link to the Coordinating Centre
• a Research & Consultancy Coordinator, for applied research and policy analysis
• an Innovation & Entrepreneurship Lead, for student start-ups and new solutions
• a Data, AI & ICT Officer, for data and digital tools
• a Partnership & Stakeholder Liaison Lead, for universities, student associations and partners

Chapters collect research from their members and screen it for relevance and practical value. The strongest ideas go to the Coordinating Centre, which takes them forward with the Jospong Group.

The research areas include renewable energy and the circular economy, artificial intelligence for sorting waste and planning collection routes, agriculture using compost and treated wastewater, and public health and policy.

GRAIN in Japan

Caroline Awuye heads the GRAIN Japan chapter (her story). With Dr. Floret Maame Owusu, Nii Amarquaye Commey and Dr. Daniel Twum-Ampofo, she prepared the chapter's roadmap: first its leadership and systems, then a network of members and partners, then the collection and screening of research.

GRAIN was launched in Japan on 29 April 2026 at the Institute of Science Tokyo, at the opening of GSU-Japan's 10th anniversary celebrations (10th Anniversary Opening & GRAIN Launch).

For Ghanaian students in Japan, GRAIN is a way to put their research to work for Ghana, with the backing of a major Ghanaian company. To find out how to take part, send us a message.