Pitches by 8 outstanding companies selected from 114 startups in Ethiopia
JICA and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia (Ministry of Innovation and Technology; MinT) are pleased to announce that on Friday, December 9, 2022, JICA’s Project to Support Startup Ecosystem Building in Developing Countries The “Ethiopia Startup Innovation Pitch” was held as part of JICA’s Project NINJA (Next Innovation with Japan) (Note 1), which supports the creation of startup ecosystems in developing countries, and was attended by approximately 300 people from Japan and around the world online and 50 Ethiopian startups and related parties at the venue. Approximately 50 Ethiopian startups and stakeholders participated in the event.
At the beginning of the session, Mr. Shigeru Handa of AAIC Investment Pte. Ltd., which implements investment in Africa, gave a presentation on “Positioning and Significance of Investment in Africa for Japan and Investment Trends,” and Ms. Shoko Hara, JICA expert and Startup Ecosystem Advisor, gave a presentation on “Potential of Reverse Innovation and After a lecture on “The Case of Ethiopia,” MinT introduced “The Attractiveness of the Startup Market from the Ethiopian Government’s Perspective.
Eight companies, selected from 114 Ethiopian startups, then took the stage and made their pitches. After rigorous judging by the online audience and a panel of judges, four of whom were Japanese and Ethiopian investors and organizations, the grand prize winners were selected. Special awards were also presented by Sumitomo Corporation, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC, Kazana Group, DIVE INTO CODE Corporation, and Amazon Web Services, Inc.
JICA will continue to support the formation of ecosystems for startup development in developing countries.
Materials of the day
(Note 1) Project NINJA (Next Innovation with Japan) was launched in January 2020 as JICA’s startup ecosystem building and entrepreneurship support activities to create business innovation in developing countries.
summary
Event Name: Ethiopian Startup Innovation Pitch
Co-organized by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MinT)
Date: Friday, December 9, 2022, 17:00-19:00 (Japan time)
Pre-registered users: 543
Participants on the day: approx. 300 online and 50 at the venue
Method: Hybrid (Ethiopian Sky Light Hotel and Zoom webinar) with simultaneous interpretation in English and Japanese
17：00 Opening Remarks by JICA 17：10 ・Lecture on Startups in Africa and Ethiopia
Lecture 1: Positioning and Significance of Investment in Africa for Japan and Investment Trends
Lecture 2: Potential for Reverse Innovation: The Case of Ethiopia
Lecture 3: Attractiveness of the startup market from the Ethiopian government’s point of view 17：25 Pitches by 8 Ethiopian startups 18：35 ・Polling of top 3 by online viewing participants and 4 judges
Presentation of special awards by companies and others 18:55 Closing remarks by MinT
Eight startups that pitched (in order of appearance)
Mr. Tigabu Haile
Eshi Express, CEO
A logistics business that aims to provide new value to SMEs through “motorcycles, bicycles, public transportation, and young human resources”. It will reduce logistics costs for SMEs and encourage their growth by providing flexible delivery times (same-day and next-day delivery) and hassle-free logistics services (consolidation and optimization), which were previously unavailable in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, where unemployment is high, the company has already employed about 200 young people as carriers, creating many job opportunities.
Mr. Daniel Getachew Guzo Technologies PLC, CEO
Founded an IT and media company specializing in XR services (Note 2), IoT solutions and Web 3.0. He has developed EpicGames, which is a game about Ethiopia’s cultural heritage, and is expanding his business not only in Ethiopia but also in the tourism and edtech (education) industries in a wide range of regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
(Note 2) XR (cross reality) is a generic term for image processing technologies such as VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), MR (mixed reality), and SR (alternate reality) that fuse the real and virtual worlds to create spaces that provide simulated experiences.
Ms. Betelhem Fikre Leading Edge Trading PLC (Zafree Papers), COO
Cleantech is an environmentally friendly paper solution that uses agricultural waste to produce unbleached pulp, paper, and paper products without the use of any wood. In addition to offering a solution to deforestation, the company aims to create a stir in Ethiopia’s domestic paper industry, where only low-quality and high-priced paper products are distributed due to a lack of foreign currency, funds, and raw materials, and to change the nature of the paper industry.
Mr Leoul Mekonnen Tsehay Infinity Technology PLC (Infinity Technology), CEO
Hulugram is a chat social platform similar to LINE that connects 30 million Internet users in Ethiopia. With a single application, users can not only communicate via chat, but also call cabs, shop, make payments, use digital wallets, and use other companies’ applications.
Mr. Tigabu Abriham Sumamo Omishtu-Joy Agtech Engineering, CEO
Omitshu-Joy AgtechEnginnering was founded by engineering and agricultural professionals to provide digital services to Ethiopian farmers. The company provides consulting services to advise farmers on what crops are best suited for what type of soil, utilizing equipment that can test the soil to find the right crop and fertilizer.
Ms Mastewal Yohannes Agonafir Taskmoby, Product leader
Utilizing a mobile app and a dedicated call center (#8191), the project will connect customers with home service providers such as repair technicians and childcare and housekeeping services. The project will contribute to job creation in Ethiopia by providing training opportunities for many young men and women who are unemployed despite their skills.
Mr Abiye Tadeos Anabi Agritech Solutions PLC, CEO
Produces and sells AI-based smart apiaries that contribute to honey productivity. Aims to promote solutions to the global honey production challenges of lack of pollination and fodder.
Mr Amanuel Zegeye Green Garo Solution PLC – Lersha
The company develops a digital platform to improve farmers’ productivity. The one-stop digital service enables farmers to purchase crops, access farm machinery services, and weather advice. Expanded to five rural regions of Ethiopia, currently employing 642 people and serving 71,000 smallholder farmers.
voting results
The top three companies were selected as a result of voting by online viewing participants and a panel of four judges.
No. 1: Leading Edge Trading (Zafi Paper)
No. 2: Omishz Joy AgTech Engineering, Inc.
No. 3: Guzo Technologies, Inc.
List of Special Award Providers
Special awards were presented to startups from the following five companies.
Sumitomo Corporation
Provided by: 8 companies in total
Contents：Examination of business collaboration
Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC Provided by: All 8 companies
Includes: Pocket Wi-Fi “MiFi”, 100GB internet data package (6 months), mentoring opportunities, consideration of business partnerships
DIVE INTO CODE Corporation Provided by: Total 8 companies
Contents: DIVER Learnings (6-month online course for learning programming) DIVER Learnings (external website)
Amazon Web Services, Inc. Nigeria office (AWS) Provided by: 3 agri-tech companies (Note 3)
Includes: $2,000 worth of AWS credits (can be used for AWS services), technical support and mentoring opportunities for using AWS clustered services
Kanaza group Provided by: 1st and 2nd
Description: Press release and SNS dissemination, mentoring opportunities provided by: 3rd
Description: Mentoring opportunities provided by: Total of 8 companies
Description: 251 Communications (marketing company) free consulting 251 Communications (English) (external website)
(Note 3) Omishtujoi Agtech Engineering, Green Agro Solutions (Resha), Anavi Agri-Tech Solutions, Inc.
speaker
Megerssa, Birhanu Abebe, Director, MinT.
Mr. Shigeru Handa, Director, AAIC Investment Pte.
Ms. Shoko Hara, Startup Ecosystem Advisor, JICA Expert
judge
Mr. Shigeru Handa (Director, AAIC Investment Pte. Ltd.)
Yannick Gayama, Managing Director, Double Feather Partners, Inc.
Hilina Zenebe, Managing Partner, Kazana Fund
Berhanu Beyene, President, Ethiopian Cybersecurity Association (ECA)
© Source JICA
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