The Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), an autonomous quasi-governmental institution operating under the auspices of the Federal Government of Ethiopia, has announced that Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, will host the highly anticipated Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa Summit in October 2023.
Taking place at the newly inaugurated Museum of Art and Science, the annual event aims to unite the African startup ecosystem and celebrate the outstanding achievements of startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators from across the continent.
The Summit will bring together key stakeholders in African innovation including leaders from industry, government, academia, and the wider ecosystem to meet and engage with the continent’s top technology solutions. Here, startups will have the opportunity to participate in a series of solution exchange workshops, where they can connect with industry experts explore potential partnership opportunities.
The highlight of this year’s event will be the Gala Dinner, where fifteen regional finalists will be named African Winners of the 2022/23 Season of GSA Africa. As African winners, these startups will be recognized for their exceptional role in addressing critical global challenges.
Furthermore, they will have the exclusive opportunity to engage with the GIIG Africa Fund, offering a pathway to potential investment as future change makers.
Adding to this, GIIG and GSA Africa co-founder, Jo Griffiths says: “Critically, we want this event to act as a spark for younger generations, to encourage them to explore the world of innovation as a promising career path. The African Development Bank projects that our continent’s youth population will more than double to 830 million by 2050 1 .
This means that an additional quarter of the population will need food, jobs, housing, and healthcare that we’re currently not equipped for. But by nurturing innovation and the growth of new, leap-frogging ideas, we can grow whole new industries of opportunity. And if we can do that, then we ensure that our actions today have a meaningful impact on the generations of tomorrow.”
As the capital of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies (averaging 9.5 percent per annum 2 ), Addis Ababa was announced as the ideal host city due to its thriving startup ecosystem, dynamic business environment, and commitment to nurturing entrepreneurial talent. The city has recently seen tremendous growth in the startup sector, climbing 72 places between 2022 and 2023 in the latest Startup Blink Global Ecosystem Ranking report 3 .
Funding for startups based in the capital has also seen an increase, rising by more than 800per cent from US$ 0.65 million in 2019 to US$ 6 million in 2022 4 .
Reflecting on the news that Addis Ababa will host this year’s GSA Africa Summit, Her Excellency Muferihat Kamil, Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Skills, says: “Our partnership with GIIG reaffirms our commitment to making Ethiopian a bastion of African prosperity by unleashing the immense entrepreneurial prowess, creativity, and innovative capacity of our talented youth in their millions. We believe Africa is the new frontier for world economic vitality. As the seat of the African Union, Addis Ababa has been Africa’s political capital for the last 60 years. It is time for Addis Ababa to double as an economic powerhouse. This event is not just a platform to deepen our ties to the African startup ecosystem but an opportunity to grow our country’s standing as a hub for world-class ideas and world-changing innovations.”
