Akorfa Dagadu was the team-lead for Ishara, an IDEAS 2023 grantee. Read more about Akorfa’s experience with IDEAS here!
Akorfa Dagadu (10B) has been named a Schwarzman Scholar!
Akorfa is an innovator who believes trash talk can change the world. A senior at MIT studying Chemical-Biological Engineering, she founded Ishara, a venture transforming recycling in Ghana by connecting informal waste-pickers to transparent, efficient systems with potential to scale across growth markets. At MIT, she researches how enzyme-polymer systems can be designed to break down plastics at end-of-life. This work has been recognized internationally through publications and awards, including the CellPress Rising Scientist Award. She aspires to establish a materials innovation hub in Africa, tackling the end-of-life of materials from plastics to e-waste. Akorfa is from Ghana.