Beacon Aromatics’ Michelle Jackson Wins National Finals After ICERFE Regional Triumph
By Media Virtuosos · Published November 23, 2025
Michelle Jackson, a final-year Mass Communication student at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), has once again brought pride to the institution after leading her team, Beacon Aromatics, to victory at the National Finals of the Student Enterprise Pitch Competition, hosted by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of Pan-Atlantic University.
This national win comes shortly after their success at the ICERFE Regional Pitch Competition, where the team’s innovative agribusiness product, Tomapep, first caught national attention. That regional stage, organized by the International Centre of Excellence for Rural Finance and Entrepreneurship (ICERFE), served as the qualifier for the national finals.
The competition was open to students from both public and private universities across Nigeria. From the initial submissions, only 18 universities made it into the semi-final round after presenting a 3-minute pitch of their enterprise. These 18 teams proceeded to the final stage where Beacon Aromatics emerged as the overall winner.
Their winning product, Tomapep, is a preservative-free blend of tomato, pepper, and onion created to reduce Nigeria’s post-harvest losses, a problem that leads to millions of naira in waste annually. The team’s pitch emphasized food security, affordability, and the potential to impact rural communities significantly.
According to Michelle, the pressure was intense as judges repeatedly hinted that beyond business viability, they were watching closely to see “which school will emerge as the top in business innovation for 2025.” The victory therefore stands as a major win for ABU and for student-led agribusiness innovation.
The university leadership, including the Vice-Chancellor and the Director of ISEP, contacted the team shortly after the announcement to congratulate them and acknowledge the visibility this win brings to ABU. The organizers noted that the winning teams will receive monitoring, mentorship, and support to help transform their ideas into fully operational enterprises.
For the Department of Mass Communication, Michelle’s achievement also highlights the strategic importance of communication skills, storytelling, pitching, branding, and digital media, in winning entrepreneurial competitions. Her leadership continues to demonstrate that communication students have a strong role in innovation-driven ventures.
Beacon Aromatics plans to use their national victory as a springboard to expand production, scale distribution, and deepen their mission of cutting tomato waste in partner farming communities across Nigeria.