Creating Pathways for Innovation for Female Founders

Supporting women entrepreneurs

October 24, 2024

a group of female startup founders — Top to finalist with government officials. The award ceremony at ICT Park was attended by State Minister Solomon Soka (MoLS), and Minister Belete Molla (MiNT).

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 24, 2024 — Ethiopia is taking bold steps to try to bridge the gender gap in the technology sector, with the successful conclusion of a Women Startup Founders programme —a UNDP-led initiative designed to empower women entrepreneurs.

The initiative, run in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS), the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), provided participants with the skills and resources needed to thrive in Ethiopia's growing tech industry.

young female tech startup founder showcasing her work — Bootcamp participant showcasing her work

Breaking Barriers for Women in Technology
Women remain underrepresented in Ethiopia’s tech sector, with participation rates in entrepreneurship and employment hindered by societal, cultural, and structural challenges.

With women comprising only 20% of participants in prior interventions, UNDP recognised the gender gap and in response, used the Women Startup Founders program to help efforts aimed at addressing these barriers by offering an ICT-based capacity-building platform tailored to women’s unique needs.

Supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the programme sought to identify scalable, innovative, and financially sound business ideas while equipping women with the tools to succeed in the competitive tech ecosystem.

Intensive Training and Skill Development
From 8-18 October 2024, 37 participants were selected from 157 applicants across Ethiopia to attend a bootcamp at the ICT Park’s INNOBIZ-K Center.

The program offered comprehensive training in entrepreneurship, prototype development, and business registration using state-of-the-art methods like Design Thinking and the Lean Startup Methodology.

Participants also explored empathy mapping, market research, and investment readiness through hands-on workshops and interactive sessions.

Industry Insights and Experience Sharing

site visit by group of young female tech startups — Industry Insights and Experience Sharing One of the program’s highlights was the exposure to Ethiopia’s leading tech companies during visits to the Wingu Africa Data Ecosystem and Raxio Data Center at the ICT Park. On October 14, 2024, participants toured these facilities, gaining insights into advanced data center technologies and operations. Experience-sharing sessions with young entrepreneurs and industry experts provided practical advice and inspiration.

Pitching Innovation

a female startup founder pitching — Participants showcased their business ideas in two rounds of pitching sessions. The first round, held on October 13, 2024, allowed all 37 entrepreneurs to present their ventures. By the final round on October 16-17, the top 10 ideas were identified based on their innovativeness, scalability, and financial viability. The winners were awarded grants of 100,000 Birr each to support the development of their startups.

Looking Ahead
The programme plans to continue support for these women entrepreneurs. Through UNDP’s collaboration with EDI, participants will have access to the SEED (Supporting Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development) programme, that will facilitate bank loans, mentorship, and partnerships with digital financial services like Kifya. As Ethiopia’s tech ecosystem continues to grow, programmes like this have the potential to play a crucial role in fostering inclusivity and innovation, ensuring women have an equal opportunity to contribute to the nation’s economic and technological progress.

*This intervention is supported through UNDP's Innovation for Development project. For more details contact wudasse@Berhanu@undp.org