As the world continues to undergo digital transformation (DX), there is a growing interest in new businesses that leverage technology. Investors from Europe and the United States are increasingly focusing on the potential market in Africa. Ethiopia, with a population of approximately 112 million, has a large enough market for startups to develop their businesses. Moreover, the country has been transitioning towards a digital economy in recent years, thanks to improvements in the telecommunications environment and government policies. As a result, it is one of the countries with the greatest business potential. This report will provide you access to 300 Ethiopian startups and 80 stakeholders in the startup ecosystem.

Please follow the link to access the report. 

English: JICA Ethiopia Startup Ecosystem Report | Our Work | JICA

Japanese: 「エチオピア スタートアップ・エコシステム調査」報告 ｜ 事業について – JICA

Objective and Methodology

・Back Ground and Objective： The primary information on the generally accessible Ethiopian startup ecosystem is limited and partial. Therefore, a survey was conducted to organize information on startups and the startup ecosystem in Ethiopia and to identify characteristics and potential/problems.

・Methodology： The survey was distributed to almost 800 institutions and firms in the Addis Ababa startup ecosystem. From those, survey data was collected from 300 startups and 80 stakeholders. Furthermore, the report included 15 face-to-face interviews with stakeholders to gain more in-depth insights.

Contents

1. Startups in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa

The following is a 9-point summary of Ethiopia’s attractions and characteristics (For example, Huge Population and Market Size, Improving Business Environment, and Changing Customer Perceptions are the features)

A. Why Ethiopia?

2. Analysis of Startup 

Leading startups in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, are summarized in two levels of the sector (Startup Map) and detail within the sector (e.g., Mobile Money/ Payment, Remittance, and Payment Processing and Lending and Saving in Fintech Startups). Detailed information (website) for each startup is also included.

Additionally, we analyzed startups in Addis Ababa by various factors (gender by business stage and sector, Job Creation Potential, Business Revenue, Startup Valuation Process, Fund Raising, Business Environment, etc.).

B. Startup Map

 C. Detail within the sector

Fintech Startups in Addis Ababa (e.g., Mobile Money/ Payment, Remittance, and Payment Processing and Lending and Saving in Fintech Startups)

D. Startup Business Stage Analysis

3. Analysis of Startup Ecosystem and Stakeholders

Map of the startup ecosystem in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and details of 13 different actors (Startup Ecosystem Builders, Established Investors, Educational Institutions, etc.), and 16 Co-working Spaces in Addis Ababa are summarized. Website details of each actor are also summarized. Knowing the actors in Addis Ababa, the startup capital of Ethiopia, gives you a glimpse of the startup environment in an African country, for example.

E. The Startup ecosystem in Addis Ababa

F. Website details of each actor

G. 16 Co-working Spaces in Addis Ababa

4. Policy, Regulatory and Government Environment

Using JICA’s strength in working with government agencies, we have put together a summary of Ethiopian government policies and regulations.

H. Policy, Regulatory, and Governance Environment

5. A list of 300 Startups in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

A list of 300 major startups (sectors and websites) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with information on startups supported by JICA and MInT.

I. Startups selected by MInT and JICA

J.  List of 300 Startups in Addis Ababa

The post Ethiopia Startup Ecosystem- A Report by JICA & MInT appeared first on WeeTracker.

NEST, an intensive regional program, is designed to assist Nigerian entrepreneurs operating in the country’s Northeast region to refine their business ideas, with a strong focus on the youths, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and, of course, technology. The program entailed a series of coaching, lectures, and boot camps, meant to help create sustainable business models. 

At the end of the Abuja-hosted event, which was held under the auspices of the ONDI and NITDA, three startups were shortlisted from a pool of 20 trained to accelerate their digital capabilities and expand their base talent-wise. Companies were selected from the six states in the Northeast, one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

Fuwa Nao, who works as JICA’s expert for Startup Ecosystem Enhancement, says the initiative focuses on the Northeast region—rather than the Southwest region where the thriving Lagos ecosystem is located—because it seeks to make technological development a lot more encompassing for the Nigerian economy. 

“Nigeria has six geopolitical zones, of which the northeastern region is the least developed, partly due to security concerns caused by an insurgency. We believe that the development of the country as a whole will be achieved through cooperation and competition among regions, rather than focusing on one city, Lagos, and that the startup ecosystem in the northeastern region needs to be improved through further support,” Fuwa told WeeTracker. 

“For example, in the United States, not only San Francisco, but also Los Angeles, Boston, and New York are growing faster and bigger as they compete with each other. I strongly believe that it is important to have regional characteristics and to cooperate while competing with each other,” he added. 

The ONDI is a Special Purpose Vehicle of NITDA, created to streamline the coordination and support of activities on policy implementation and interventions targeted at the development and growth of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem. In this regard, ONDI is facilitating the partnership between NITDA and JICA, conceptualizing, designing, and executing the NEST program. 

Regardless of the challenges that have bedeviled the Northeast region, there exist several young and innovative mindsets striving to leverage digital technology to solve the myriad of problems and create value for the people. However, most of these innovators lack a functional support network that will aid them in achieving their dreams of building a viable, scalable business that will create the desired impact.

Yakubu Musa, Acting National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), says that most of the participants. admitted to the NEST being their first training on the related topics. Some of the participants had their first pitching experience during the NEST. 

“Therefore, the benefits are enormous as it will empower them with a better understanding of how to refine their business models, legal requirements in operating their companies, strategies to sell their products and expand their customer base, and better position themselves to attract investments. These are some of the benefits for the participants,” Yakubu told WeeTracker. 

The three startups selected at the close of NEST were Sadiqu & Sons Premium Industry Ltd., Five Stars Information and Communication Technology (5th Agro), and Yola-based Destech Software. 

Sadiqu & Sons Premium Industry Ltd helps organizations, communities, and individuals to gain better access to IT solutions and products. Destech specializes in providing information technology services via a network of IT professionals, system designers, software developers, technicians, and financial experts. Five Stars Information and Communication Technology (5th Agro) specializes in sustainable agriculture to help smallholder and large-scale farmers get at least 30 percent more profits.

According to Amieen Bala, Managing Director, and CEO of Destech Software, JICA and ONDI have played a vital role in initiating NEST. He says the program will not only benefit the shortlisted startups but all the participating companies and the owners of such companies.

“One important point to mention is that JICA, NITDA, and ONDI are with us from the beginning of every session to the end. They even go to the extent of creating more time to spend with us to make sure the aim and objective of the NEST program are fully achieved. We all learned from the experts that served as resource persons to coach/train us,” he relayed to us. 

No doubt, Nigeria is a busy and somewhat influential context in the African tech ecosystem’s grand growth pattern. In 2021, of the USD 4.08 B venture capital raised by tech startups in the continent, Nigeria absorbed a significant USD 1.42 B. Compared with South Africa’s USD 730 M, it is obvious how much potential lies in the West African country’s digital space. 

Even though the market lays claim to 5 of the 8 tech startup unicorns existing in the continent, there remains the problem of inconsistent growth caused by the absence of initiatives to support companies at the grassroots and in the underserved or overlooked hemispheres. More so, the lack of interaction among entrepreneurs is a major setback. 

“We believe that mutual understanding, learning, and networking among entrepreneurs are very important for their growth as entrepreneurs, and we designed the program while emphasizing this point. Therefore, we provided a lot of time to communicate, discuss, and understand each other through training,” JICA’s Nao Fuwa recounted.

One of the numerous Japanese efforts to support the growth of technology in Africa, this is the pilot phase of the NEST program. It has 20 startups in its first cohort, and there is no definite number of how many entrepreneurs the initiative would end up empowering. 

The post ONDI Partners With JICA To Train & Support Startups In Nigeria’s North East Region appeared first on WeeTracker.

The NINJA Business Plan Competition will target startups and organizations from 19 African countries. The application is open for startups/organizations in all sectors with a specific focus on emerging businesses in COVID-19-related fields including, but not limited to:

1. Health: Online healthcare support; disease-testing solutions; medical data sharing and privacy protection solutions; distribution of drugs and medical equipment; IoT, including 3D printers, in the medical field
2. Disaster management: Geo-tracking during disasters; emergency information dissemination
3. Business services: Support for remote workers; efficient management/operation of online events
4. Education sector: Remote learning support
5. Food and agriculture: Efficient food/commodity distribution technology
6. Finance: Contactless transactions/payment; lending/insurance services to SMEs and individuals
7. Logistics: delivery service, urban mobility management
8. Other: Substituting imported goods with local innovative technology

WHO CAN APPLY

1. Organisations with their head office or a branch in one of the target countries.　
2. Profit/non-profit organisations registered as an independent legal entity. Proposals from individuals will not be considered.
3. Companies with a very strong management team of at least 2 people.
4. Businesses that have an innovative product(s) or service(s) in response or adaptable to the Pandemic and post-pandemic society OR have a feasible business plan to create prototypes (MVP).
   
   Applicants must meet all criteria mentioned.

THE PRIZE

1. Winners from each country will be given a chance to sign a work contract with JICA for their innovation(s).
2. Winners will be eligible for equity/debt-free sum of upto USD 30000 by JICA for covering costs associated with the proposed activities including, 1) remuneration of staffs, 2) other expenses, and 3) indirect local tax.
3. Winners may also get the opportunity to travel to Japan for further investments and business partnerships sponsored by JICA.

SELECTION CRITERIA

1. The proposal should introduce some level of innovation in terms of a business model, a new product or service that can be more actively used, and/or profitability in the current and post COVID-19 era.
2. Proposals should be as commercially-oriented as possible.
3. JICA may establish an evaluation board with outside evaluators experts under strict confidentiality to evaluate proposals.
4. Each country will have 8 to 10 finalists out of which up to 5 winners will be selected.
5. Winners from each country will participate in the grand finale

TARGET COUNTRIES

Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.

Applications from these countries will be accepted.

SCHEDULE

1. The application deadline has been extended to August 05^th, 2020. For Ethiopia, the deadline has been extended to August 26th, 2020 (due to the internet ban).
2. Interview of selected startups:  Mid to Late August 2020
3. Final selection: September 2020                       

Note: JICA will request the startups invited to be interviewed online to submit additional documents/a pitch deck if necessary.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE

1. When applying, each company is to submit a business plan with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be achieved within about 6 months.
2. Before the contract, JICA will examine the details of the proposed activity and the validity of the budget (each expense item) and JICA may request the additional documents to determine the detailed activity in the contract.
3. After the contract is signed, startups/organizations must submit monthly reports about the KPIs to JICA. (The duration of the contract will be about 6 months.)
4. JICA will make payments based on the progress of the proposed activities and the submission of the progress reports and/or the expense report with receipt.
5. The payment schedule will be determined by JICA, and in principle, no advance payment at the commencement of the contract.

To apply for the NINJA Business Plan Competition, please click here 

For any queries about the competition, please get in touch with us at the following email address: edgps@jica.go.jp

The post Deadline Extended for NINJA Business Plan Competition in Response to COVID19 appeared first on WeeTracker.