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.

The GSA Africa in collaboration with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MOLS), the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) with the support of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) Ethiopia, revealed the names of 16 overall African category winners.

At the summit’s grand finale and awards showcase, Momint, was named the Best Web 3.0 Startup.

Ahren Posthumus, Momint CEO, accepted the award on behalf of his team back home in South Africa.

“This is a recognition of our passion and tireless dedication of the team. This is just the start of our journey. We have a vision to create a decentralised and sustainable energy network across the entire continent. Web 3.0 is simply a tool that will enable us to achieve this goal and leapfrog the rest of the world. We are forever grateful for the support of everyone who shares this vision and the trust of our community of solar certificate owners, who are an integral part of building and owning this critical energy infrastructure alongside us.,” Posthumus.

Momint facilitates the funding and trading of solar investments through an integrated digital wallet. The company specialises in digitising tangible assets and legal contracts on the blockchain, allowing individuals to support renewable energy adoption and earn a projected income.

They competed against 2,057 entrants from Southern Africa and was among more than 8,200 GSA Africa awards entrants overall.

The GSA Africa, headquartered in Cape Town, is dedicated to showcasing transformative African innovation that aligns with Sustainable Development Goals, both locally and internationally.

The progress of the winners is documented as demonstrable innovation, underscoring the critical need and opportunity for ‘real-world, tangible implementation’ and the creation of new markets.

All 16 African winners will have the exclusive opportunity to engage with the GIIG Africa Fund, the competition’s dedicated investment partner.

Through its GIIG Africa Fund and the GIIG Africa Foundation, the organisation aims to find, fund and grow African solutions to globally relevant challenges.

The winners will also advance to the official Global Startup Awards in Copenhagen next year.

Jo Griffiths, co-founder of the GSA Africa and GIIG, highlighted;

“The GSA Africa is dedicated to increasing the recognition of African innovation, serving as a bridge that connects different cultures and stages of startup development across the continent. It encourages mutual understanding and collaboration, offering a stage for collective goals of greater impact. The presence of seven South African startups in Addis Ababa highlights the rife potential of our national startup environment. We are extremely proud to have had a strong South African presence at the event, representing various sectors such as health, energy and biotech.”

Caitlin Nash, co-founder of GSA Africa and GIIG added, “The GSA Africa Summit is an enabler of collaborative transformation – of Africa’s emerging startup nations, founders, and communities leveraging and amplifying Africa’s growing influence in the global community. It is our mission to find and support these operators and innovators of Africa – these are the young leaders with the ideas, energy, local knowledge, commitment and experience that will build this continent. We have an always-on call out for organisations that share this vision to partner with us on our GIIG Fund and Foundation work that delivers this support especially ahead of the new programme starting in January 2024.”

Throughout this year and after two meticulous selection rounds, the GSA Africa jury selected 71 regional winners from five African regions and 54 countries.

Of these, seven startups were invited to the summit in Ethiopia and accommodated by GIIG, including Momint, Newform Foods, Basket eCommerce, BAOM Eco Solutions, Noosi, LIQID Medical, and Floatpays.

On his attendance at the summit, Lunga Momoza, founder of Basket eCommerce, a South African regional finalist in the Mobility & Logistics category, notes, “We recently just came out of university and you can imagine as an early-stage startup, […] it means a lot because we know now we’re able to tell our story on the global stage.”

Brett Thomposon, CEO of Newform Foods, a South African regional finalist in the Greentech sector, “We work in biotech which is a new field in many ways in parts of the continent. […] Sometimes it does feel a bit lonely, so the Global Startup Awards [Africa] is a platform that allows people to connect, to really get to know each other, to share learnings, and to share struggles.”

In addition to celebrating the South African winner and regional finalists, the summit welcomed its partnership with Wesgro Health which forms part of Cape Town and the Western Cape’s official agency for promoting tourism, trade, and investment.

Wesgro Health plays a significant role in attracting and facilitating both national and international investment into a region that contributes an estimated R1.7 billion to the health technology sector alone.

This collaboration underlines their mission to nurture entrepreneurial growth in the region and to extend its influence across the African continent.

“The tech sector in Cape Town and the Western Cape has shown tremendous growth, with Cape Town in particular having been identified in several studies as a leading region on the African continent for the establishment of technology start-ups and a driver of innovation. Wesgro is proud to partner with GSA Africa in their mission to shape Africa’s future through innovation and spotlighting ground-breaking solutions emerging from the continent,” says Wesgro CEO, Wrenelle Stander.

“I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Momint for being named the Best Web 3.0 Startup. Wesgro is dedicated to supporting trade and investment in health technology in accordance with our mandate to support economic growth and job creation in the local economy”, added Stander.

Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Labour and Skills, shared, “Ethiopia has big ambitions. We believe it is our turn to shape tomorrow’s world. It is Africa’s turn to herald a new world, a more equitable, more humanity-centred, and more just world. It will be all of us standing tall, and Africa standing tall, Africa assuming its rightful place in the world, Africa ceasing to be a synonym for poverty, social malaise, and hopelessness, and Africa becoming the new frontier for innovation and economic vitality.” H.E. Kamil encouraged all startups, “As you go home, go home with Africa’s future on your shoulders, with Africa’s dream for salvation in your hearts.”

Dr Belete Molla Getahun, Minister of Innovation and Technology, said, “If African countries are to truly reap the benefits of the demographic dividends from their sizeable young population, it is extremely necessary to support entrepreneurship and startups with a sense of urgency and purpose. Here, we must leverage this platform to learn from other countries’ experiences and to share yours as well as your country’s vision of going global by fostering a local innovation ecosystem. This is the building of a community of disrupters ready to make its mark on the global startup ecosystem. The world will soon feel your impact, from Lagos to Lilongwe, Cape Town to Cairo. You are the fearless makers and shakers. With you at the helm, steering us forward, there will be light ahead.”

Additional key partners to the GSA Africa summit included UNICEF Ethiopia, UNDP Ethiopia, Grant Thornton Ethiopia, The Mayor’s Office Addis Ababa, The Development Bank Ethiopia, First Consult, and Loudhailer Global.

In the meantime, innovators looking to be a part of the next delegation are encouraged to apply to the 2022/23 season of GSA Africa – the largest independent startup ecosystem competition on the continent on a mission to find, fund, and scale the most innovative companies in Africa. Applications are free and close on 26 February 2023.

Among others, this year’s competition is looking for innovations in agriculture, climate, commerce, education, healthcare, and mobility & logistics, with a particular interest in startups championing Web3 technologies, green innovation, and diversity in the workplace.

This is coupled with additional award categories for co-working spaces, ecosystem support organisations, investors, and individuals.

Providing applicants and winners alike with unmatched opportunities to gain global exposure, access new markets, and network with global industry leaders, the competition will see entrants contend at a national level before vying for their spot as a regional finalist.

From here, a panel of innovation experts will determine the African winners, who will be announced alongside representatives from across the public, private and civil sectors at the GSA Africa Summit in September 2023 – a two-day conference and gala dinner to convene, connect and celebrate Africa’s most innovative minds.

Winners of the competition will also have the exclusive opportunity to receive funding from the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG).

As the investment partner to the African Startup Awards, GIIG’s sole purpose is to fund the development of Sustainable Development Goal-aligned solutions on the continent and recently announced a slew of investments into last year’s regional and African winners, including Kubik, MyHealthAfrica, and ScarabTech, among others.

In addition to funding, the African winners are exposed to new opportunities for collaboration on an international scale, with winners, Scarabtech and Tekeya, recently invited to attend COP27, where they were announced as winners of the Africa Grows Green Awards.

“Whatever your category, I highly recommend that you enter the African Startup Awards,” says Kidus Asfaw, Co-founder and CEO of Kubik, which was named the African winner in ESG Tech and Startup of the Year at last year’s competition. “For us, it wasn’t just about the funding potential – it was important that we be a part of a pan-African ecosystem of innovators. Now, we’re excited to be representing the continent in Demark later this year for the Global Startup Awards Grand Finale – we’re excited for this opportunity to really put Kubik on the global map.”

Reflecting on the Awards and Summit, Jeffrey Barbee, Founder and CEO of ScarabTech – which was named a regional winner for Southern Africa – says: “It was a great opportunity to connect with impact-minded partners from all over Africa. This environment of collaboration afforded the startups involved the opportunity to meet each other, learn about other amazing projects, and  develop our networks across the continent. Making contact with businesses on a similar journey to us was a valuable exercise and is helping shape how our business can best succeed in the future.”

Adding to this, Jo Griffiths, Co-Founder of GSA Africa, says that: “The African Startup Awards is more than just a competition – it’s a community. We’re building the largest network of innovation organisations, from the entrepreneurs working on the ground, to the investors and government organisations that support them, all committed to realising sustainable, inclusive, and impactful development across the African continent. It is for this reason that – in addition to funding – we also strive to support all applicants with non-monetary forms of support, such as mentorship, training and networking.”

Applications for the African Startup Awards are free and close on 26 February 2023.

To apply, go  here. 

All countries were able to deploy remote learning technologies using a combination of TV, radio, online and mobile platforms, birthing edtech. Currently, most countries are working towards reopening schools, but there will still be intermittent closures and use of hybrid learning.

However, school closures and limited access to remote learning — edtech — means that learning poverty is likely to worsen from 53% to 63% especially in low-income countries.

“This begs the question: how can technology help today’s children and the adults of tomorrow?” says Jo Griffiths Co-founder of the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the exclusive rights holder of the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa – the first and only continent-wide Sustainable Development Goal-aligned tech innovation competition.

iSchool, Northern Africa Regional Winner has created an online education platform for 6-18 year olds, with over 8,000 graduates and 100+ coding coaches. The platform has recently become both STEM and AI accredited and has been voted in the Top 10 EdTech startups in the world. Mohamed Algawish, founder of iSchool, states:

“From day one we at iSchool believe in the potential of our nation’s young minds, that is why we are working day and night carrying a mission to empower today’s generation so that they become tomorrow’s technology leaders.”

Hanae Bezad, founder and president of Douar Tech, an inclusive tech hub and platform that contributes to raising the resilience of vulnerable youth, especially rural women in Morocco and other countries in Africa, shares that her hope is for parents to understand the potential of technology to empower their children.

“A lot of kids have to walk many kilometres just to go to school. I’ve also been in areas where I’ve had discussions with parents who have decided to take their daughters out of school because they are now hitting puberty and they don’t want them to risk getting pregnant or to have their period at school as there’s no infrastructure for them. Preventing their children from attending school is basically killing any chance for them to thrive in the 21st century. Technology has to solve this and empower people with knowledge to become the best version of themselves.”

Douar Tech is the Northern Africa Regional Winner of GSA Africa’s ESG Tech category and provides vulnerable youth with innovative entrepreneurship and web development skills.

George Akilimali, CEO and founder of Tanzanian digital learning content development agency Smartcore, one of the GSA Africa country winners, shares that in Sub Saharan Africa there are more than 65 million students who are out of school.

“That number is terrifying. Additionally, for those who are lucky enough to be in school, the quality of education is unfortunately low. That is why we have the challenge of unemployment; people lack skills because of the quality of education itself. These are the biggest problems in education in Africa today.”

Another GSA Africa country winner, Ibrahim Oredola, founder of SKillNG, a skill acquisition accelerator startup based in Nigeria, adds that while students do learn some skills, they aren’t equipped with the right skills that are demanded globally.

“Unemployment is one of the greatest problems in Africa, especially in Nigeria, where we have over 80% of the workforce either unemployed or underemployed because there is a skill mismatch and skill gap. In fact, recent research has found that 90% of job applicants are not qualified for the jobs they apply for. With tech being the backbone of every single industry nowadays, we need people to be tech-empowered.”

Looking to the future, Mustafa Abd Ellatif, co-founder and CEO of EYouth, the Egyptian country winner, believes that education will be completely online – especially universities. “Not only will it be cheaper, but this will also enable students to attend any university in the world to get the learning they desire.”

Griffiths concludes by saying: “To have a chance of impacting SDG Goal 4 – providing access to quality education on the continent, we need to first find the solutions that are solving educational challenges on the ground. Through the GSA Africa 2021 competition, Edtech constituted 19% of the 7500+ nominations. Our aim is to give visibility to these solutions and connect them to the right networks to help ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.”