The Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) has officially announced a strategic alliance with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS), Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) and 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 Ethiopia’s entrepreneurial journey, which brought together innovation leaders and startups from across Africa and the world.
Recognizing their shared commitment to promoting innovation in Africa, the partnership between GIIG has expanded to focus on supporting Ethiopia as an emerging startup nation.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS) together with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) will lead this progressive collaboration as a key intervention to realize Ethiopia’s strategic innovation goals.
As lead partners in GSA Africa 2024, the partnership will seek to convene and accelerate partnerships that build tangible local innovation economies, transfer future-proofing skills to citizens and inspire globally competitive businesses.
HE Muferihat Kamil, Minister for Jobs and Skills, commenting on the partnership said: “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 leadership agenda for the nation. We need to build our economies not to imitate but to lead as Africans and initiatives with GIIG will play an important role in making this possible.”
Alongside the announcement, the Global Startup Awards Africa 2024 was officially opened. The partnership with MoLS, MInT and EDI highlights a purposeful alliance aimed at accelerating Ethiopia’s startup ecosystem to the forefront of the nation’s agenda and positioning Ethiopia as a key startup hub on the continent, capitalizing on its status as the seat of the African Union.
Entries for the third season of the competition are open to African startups and innovators to apply. The GSA Africa platform not only offers global visibility for African startups, but also showcases 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 tackle issues such as climate change in practice.
His Excellency Dr. Belete Molla Getahun, Minister of Innovation and Technology shared, “It is vitally important that we support entrepreneurship and start-ups with a sense of urgency and purpose. This partnership is about building a disruption community that is ready to make its mark on the global startup ecosystem.”
Dr. Hassan Hussein, CEO of EDI noted, “EDI and GIIG share a common purpose to discover, iterate and scale impactful solutions to some of the world’s most persistent challenges with a mission to create a vibrant, resilient and authentically Ethiopian business 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 edition of GSA Africa targets SDG-aligned solutions in agriculture, climate, trade, healthcare, mobility, logistics, women in technology and youth, among others. Specifically, the competition seeks startups championing cutting-edge technologies, with a particular focus on Africa’s projected $6.9 billion artificial intelligence market in 2024.
Jo Griffiths, co-founder of GIIG, highlighted the role of the platform in highlighting talent in all 54 African countries, stating: “The solutions we find have the capacity and global relevance to solve some of the world’s most critical challenges as demonstrated by the success of our past winners.”
Through our partnership with MoLS and EDI, we will continue to provide a continental convening platform aimed at creating a collective influence on the global development agenda, which will enable a rapid acceleration for the diffusion of innovation in Ethiopia so that it can receive the legal status of Africa and the world’.
Winners will advance to national and regional levels before convening 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 2023 Summit was an opportunity to meet potential partners, public and private, and investors to advance our journey”commented Folake Owodunni, Co-Founder of Emergency Response Africa, winner of the Health Tech 2023 category, while Ahren Posthumus, founder of Momint and winner of the Web 3 2023 category said, “Events like the GSA Summit are vital to foster cross-border cooperation and business development in Africa.”
Kim Balle, co-founder of GSA Global, added, “In addition to investment, networking and mentoring opportunities, the winning startups will be invited to the Global Grand Finale in Copenhagen, Denmark, with potential partners from global innovation ecosystems.”
Applications for the 2024 GSA Africa are now open. For more information, partnership opportunities and to apply, visit here.
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