Ethiopia Accelerates Innovation Agenda, Partners with GIIG

The Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) has formally announced a strategic alliance with the Ethiopia Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS), Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) – Ethiopia.

This strategic partnership follows the success of the Global Startup Awards Africa Finale held in Addis Ababa in October 2023, a historic milestone in the entrepreneurial journey of Ethiopia that convened innovation leaders and startups from across Africa and the world.

Recognising their shared commitment to fostering innovation in Africa, the partnership between GIIG has been expanded to focus on supporting Ethiopia as a rising Startup Nation.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS) alongside the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) will be leading this progressive partnership as a key intervention to implement the strategic innovation goals of Ethiopia.

As the lead partners to GSA Africa 2024, the partnership will seek to convene and accelerate collaborations that tangibly build local innovation economies, transfer future-fit skills to citizens, and inspire globally competitive businesses.

Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Labour and Skills commenting on the partnership, stated,

“As part of the NEST initiative, we are committed to building a long-term partnership with GIIG and the Global Startup Awards Africa. It is absolutely critical that the startup ecosystem in Ethiopia becomes a leading agenda for the nation. We need to build our economies not to imitate but to lead as Africans and initiatives with GIIG will play a significant role in enabling this.”

Alongside the announcement, the 2024 Global Startup Awards Africa was officially opened.

The collaboration with MoLS, MInT and EDI and underscores an intentional alliance aimed at accelerating the startup ecosystem in Ethiopia to the forefront of the nation’s agenda and positioning Ethiopia as a key startup hub in the continent, leveraging its status as home to the African Union.

Entries for the third season of the competition are open to African startups and innovation enablers to apply.

The GSA Africa platform offers not only global visibility for African startups but also presents investment opportunities through the GIIG Africa Fund.

With a focus on solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the competition aims to practically address issues such as climate change.

Dr Belete Molla Getahun, Minister of Innovation and Technology, shared, “It is extremely necessary to support entrepreneurship and startups with a sense of urgency and purpose. This partnership is about building a community of disrupters ready to make its mark on the global startup ecosystem.”

Dr Hassan Hussein, CEO of EDI noted,

“EDI and GIIG have a shared purpose to discover, iterate and scale solutions that deliver impact for some of the world’s most stubborn challenges with a mission to create a vibrant, resilient, and authentically Ethiopian entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. As partners, we can lead with a greater sense of urgency, to help communities and organizations adopt change faster for rapid transformation.”

The 2024 GSA Africa edition targets SDG-aligned solutions in agriculture, climate, commerce, healthcare, mobility, logistics, women in tech, and youth, among others.

Notably, the competition seeks startups championing frontier technologies, with a particular interest in Africa’s projected $6.9 billion AI market in 2024.

Jo Griffiths, co-founder of GIIG, emphasized the platform’s role in showcasing talent across all 54 African countries, stating,

“The solutions we are finding have the capability and global relevance to solve some of the world’s most critical challenges evidenced by the success of our previous winners.” Through our partnership with MoLS and EDI, we will continue to provide a continental convening platform with the goal of generating collective influence on the global development agenda which will enable a fast track acceleration to popularize innovation in Ethiopia so that it can assume its rightful status in Africa and the world.”

Winners will progress through national and regional levels before gathering at the GSA Africa Summit in Addis Ababa in October 2024.

The summit provides a unique opportunity for innovators to convene, connect, and celebrate Africa’s most innovative minds.

“The GSA summit 2023 was a chance to meet potential partners, public and private, and investors to advance our journey”, commented Folake Owodunni, Co-Founder Emergency Response Africa winner of the 2023 Health Tech category, whilst Ahren Posthumus, Founder of Momint and winner of the Web 3 category 2023 said, “Events like the GSA summit are vital for fostering collaboration and business growth across borders in Africa.”

Kim Balle, co-founder and CEO of GSA Global, added,

“In addition to investment, networking, and mentorship, our startup winners will be invited to the Global Grand Final Days. This prestigious series of events offers a unique platform for engaging with potential partners from diverse global innovation ecosystems.”

Participation

Applications for the 2024 GSA Africa are now open.