Ethiopia

Addis Ababa

MEMBERS:
The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT)

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology envisions Ethiopia’s startup ecosystem reaching the fourth stage of its lifecycle while prioritizing its actions to activate and globalize the startup ecosystem lifecycle.

Mr. Selamyihun Adefris
Innovation Development Lead CEO, Ministry of Innovation and Technology

Highlights

The capital city of Ethiopia, with a population of more than 5 million, Addis Ababa is home to more than 300 established startups and 45 ecosystem builders, including Intuitio Ventures and Renew Capital. The 200 hectare ICT Park is dedicated to ICT-based startups and closely situated to Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, and industry parks.

In 2023, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and Addis Ababa city administration signed an MOU that officially positions Addis Ababa as the first Ethiopian startup city, with the goal of offering soft landing to local and foreign startups and ecosystem builders. It also designed the E-Startup Initiative to measure the city’s conduciveness to startups. The ministry has been working closely with different stakeholders including the Ethiopian Youth Entrepreneurs Association (EYEA), which conducts monthly policy advocacy and provides a networking platform titled Zelela in partnership with MInT and others. The ministry with KOICA has opened the biggest incubation center in ICT Park, Addis Ababa called Innobiz-K Ethiopia.

In October 2023, the Next Ethiopian Startup (NEST) initiative was inaugurated by the vice prime minister, his excellency Ato Demeke Mekonnen. In the same month, Addis Ababa hosted the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa and the startup event ENKOPA. In December 2023, Ethiopia became an official member of the African Startup Development Declaration. Payments startup Kacha Digital Financial Service won the VISA Everywhere Initiative in 2023, with AI -driven risk and banking platform Qena and payment app SmilePay taking second and third places.

Ecosystem by the Numbers

ECOSYSTEM VALUE
(H2 2020 - 2022)
$83 m
GLOBAL AVG. $34.6 bn
TOTAL EARLY–STAGE FUNDING
(H2 2020 - 2022)
$12.3 m
GLOBAL AVG. $970 m
ECOSYSTEM VALUE GROWTH
(H2 2020 - H2 2022 VS H2 2018 - H2 2020)
12.6%
12.6% 12.6 27 47% 47 100 0
GLOBAL AVG. 47%
NUMBER OF UNICORNS
(H2 2020 - 2022)
NA
GLOBAL AVG. 4
MEDIAN SEED ROUND (H2 2020 - 2022)
$163 k
GLOBAL AVG. $821 k
MEDIAN SERIES A ROUND (H2 2020 - 2022)
NA
GLOBAL AVG. $6 m
SOFT. ENGINEER SALARY (2022)
$8.3 K
GLOBAL AVG. $46 k
EARLY-STAGE FUNDING GROWTH (2019 - 20 VS. 2021 - 22)
1
Scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest)
TOTAL VC FUNDING (2018 - 2022)
$36 m
GLOBAL AVG. $6.6 bn
TIME TO EXIT (2018 - 2022)
NA
GLOBAL AVG. 9 years
EXIT AMOUNT (2018 - 2022)
NA
GLOBAL AVG. $11.3 bn
EXIT COUNT (#)
(2018 - 2022)
NA
GLOBAL AVG. 91

Sub-Sector Strengths

Ecommerce

The government of Ethiopia has supported the nation’s 40 Ecommerce startups by approving favorable proclamations. Ethiopian startup Ride launched its Ride Food platform in 2023. Shemach is a B2B marketplace for small retailers that has raised pre-seed funding. Buy2Go and Zmall Delivery signed an MOU in June 2023 to consolidate their market strategies and both signed an MOU with NinjaCart to obtain technical support in the agricultural supply chain.

Fintech

In Ethiopia, Fintech products have emerged as a pathway for the under- and unbanked to achieve financial inclusion. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology supports Fintech startups through grants, training, and by creating a conducive environment. The 29 Fintech startups in Ethiopia include Kacha, Arifpay, Sunpay, and SantimPay, which are each valued at more than $2 million. Payments startup SantimPay has surpassed $106 million in transactions. Telbirr – a mobile payment service developed by state-owned Ethio telecom – and Safaricom’s M-PESA payments app also play vital roles in the sector.

Agtech & New Food

With a vast number of smallholder farmers and limited access to technology and traditional financing, the Addis Ababa ecosystem has targeted Agtech as an area of opportunity for innovative solutions to help farmers increase their productivity and income. There are over 25 Agtech startups in Addis Ababa, playing a role in transforming Ethiopia's agricultural sector. Lersha, which provides digital services to enable smallholders to access support, received a $100,000 grant from the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation.

Reasons to Move Your Startup to Addis Ababa

Government Support

The government of Ethiopia is committed to the development of a sustainable, robust, and welcoming startup ecosystem to attract overseas startups and both foreign and local investors. The Ethiopian Startup Act, which establishes a national Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) council and innovation fund to finance startups, is awaiting approval. A dedicated STI policy promotes innovation and startups to accelerate economic growth.

Focus on Digitalization

Digital Ethiopia 2025 leverages technology to capitalize on the foreign exchange market. The Addis Ababa City Administration with its Innovation and Technology Development Bureau implements digitalization, conducts technology research, and supports Indigenous technologies to realize a smart city. In 2023, Addis Ababa hosted the Digital Startup Marketplace, a UNDP-sponsored event to showcase digital startups. Hulugram, a digital transformation app, raised $120,000 in an August 2023 pre-seed funding round.

Strong Talent Pipeline

Addis Ababa Science and Technology University and Addis Ababa University produce a steady pipeline of talented STEM graduates, with nearly 63% of their total graduates for the last five years in STEM. Addis Ababa Institute of Technology provides education, training, and research in technology to foster social and economic development. SaaS-enabled online tech talent marketplace Gebeya Inc. allows the global business community to easily access Ethiopian tech talent.

Selected Startup Organizations

Startup Genome Members

MEMBER
The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT)

MInT initiates policies, strategies, laws, regulatory frameworks, and programs that sustainably ensure the development and competitiveness of the startup/innovation ecosystem. Among many initiatives, the ministry is working to establish a national innovation fund with a primary focus on seed and grant funds for early-stage startups, as well as innovation projects that require risk funds to achieve a minimum viable product. The ministry works closely with the Ministry of Labor and Skill, regional technology agencies, and other ecosystem actors to ensure connectedness.


Key Ecosystem Players

The Office of the Prime Minister

The government has demonstrated a strong commitment in promoting innovation and startups with the National STI Policy. It supports the launch of the Startup Ethiopia event, a conference to showcase and inspire finance and policy initiatives from government and non-government organizations.

Innovation for Development (I4D) Project

Innovation for Development Project assists Ethiopia in enhancing prosperity, employment creation, and productivity in line with the SDGs. Started in 2020 and ending in June 2025, the project has a total budget of $9.6 million to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and to fund Ethiopian startups.

Next Ethiopian Startup Initiative and Innovation for Development Project (NEST)

The NEST initiative is a groundbreaking National Startup Ecosystem Development Initiative that aims to support and empower startups as a key driver of Ethiopia's economy. It will foster collaboration, reward risk-taking behaviors, and establish a supportive environment for innovation at every stage. The initiative creates a comprehensive national startup ecosystem development approach.

Project NINJA

JICA with MInT launched Project NINJA in January 2020, with the aim of strengthening the startup ecosystem. NINJA has provided capacity building inside and outside Ethiopia for 100 startups and 130 ecosystem stakeholders. It has conducted several matching events and provided $54,000 in grants to six startups. In collaboration with JICA, MInT published the first Addis Ababa startup ecosystem report in October 2023.

European Business Network (EBN)

EBN is a not-for-profit that serves a pan-European, global community of people that use innovative business as a driver for regional (economic) development. In collaboration with MInT and GIZ, EBN has designed quality frameworks that standardize 17 universities and private accelerators and incubators to enhance service quality.

Innobiz-K Ethiopia

MInT signed the “ICT-based business creation and innovative businesses support to create quality jobs in Ethiopia" project with KOICA. To implement the project, Innobiz-K Ethiopia will start full operations in February 2024. The center is a key hub for startups and innovative businesses built to realize a strong national startup ecosystem.

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