Project NINJA

JICA, together with eight Ethiopian, two Tunisian and two Nigerian startups, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia (MinT), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) of Nigeria, Smart Capital of Tunisia (which had contributed to the establishment and implementation of Tunisian Startup Act), and the African Union Development Agency - New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD), will participate in GITEX Africa which will be held in Marrakech, Morocco. This is the largest comprehensive tech forum on the African continent and the participation to this forum is a part of JICA's Project NINJA^[1].

GITEX Africa is an opportunity for thought leaders, creators, innovators, and makers to gather and discuss new ideas, showcase new products, and expand Africa's startup potential. The forum will feature emerging technologies such as fintech, e-commerce, cloud, IoT, AI, telecom, and cybersecurity, and will hold discussions on the vision for a sustainable, inclusive, and technology-driven digital economy.

This forum is a place where African startups and government agencies can meet and talk face-to-face with many investors, large companies, accelerators, and incubators from the African continent, as well as from Asia, Europe, America, and other international regions with an interest in Africa.

In October 2022, JICA participated in GITEX GLOBAL (Home - GITEX GLOBAL - October 2022 - Dubai (external link)), one of the world's largest startup technology conferences with over 100,000 visitors on similar platforms. This year's GITEX Africa forum focused on the African region.

JICA has dispatched startup ecosystem experts to Nigeria and Ethiopia, supporting each government's projects such as incubation/ acceleration program etc. for growing start-ups. There may be other opportunities in the near future which you can apply for!

Forum Details

Forum Details

- Forum Name: GITEX Africa 2023
- Date: Tuesday, May 30 - Friday, June 2, 2023
- Place: Marrakech, Morocco
- Contents:

1. Pitch event for selected Ethiopian startups in front of investors and accelerators from around the world
2. Panel discussion on startup-related legislation by JICA, MinT, NITDA, Smart Capital and AUDA-NEPAD
3. Matching/Marketing by startups' Startup-Pod set-up (a place to make connections with investors and companies)
4. Government exchange meetings among MinT, NITDA, Smart Capital and AUDA-NEPAD (separate program from GITEX Africa)

Program

1) JICA Panel Discussion
-Date/time: Wednesday 31st May, 15:20 pm (duration : 30 min)
-Theme: Startup policies of several African countries

2) JICA Pitch Deck
-Date: Friday 2nd June, 2023, from 11:00am-1:15pm
-Place: Elevate Stage at Gitex Africa, in Hall 5
-Contents: (1) JICA Project NINJA, (2)How is Japan deepening partnerships through innovation in African countries?, (3)12 Startups pitch (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tunisia * The startups listed below will participate)

Startups

The following 12 startups from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tunisia have been selected to participate in GITEX Africa, where they will pitch and have discussions with investors and companies.

[Ethiopia]

Ms. Bethlehem Ayele

Askema Engineering

Product name: Friction - Lining Materials
Sector: Manufacturing / Automotive
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 6
Description: Askema Engineering is a manufacturing business which produces high-quality friction lining material for all types of vehicles made from Slough try.
Our brake pads, brake shoes & clutches are applicable for fuel & electric cars, trucks, machineries and wind turbine.
Website: http://www.Askemaengineering.com (external link)

Mr. Estephanos Zewdie

JEMLA, Inc.

Product name: JEMLA
Sector: e-Commerce
Established in: 2020
Number of Employees: 10
Description: JEMLA is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects informal retailers with access to a wide range of consumer goods at competitive prices for their shops.
Website: https://jemlaonline.com (external link)

Mr. Habtamu Tadesse

ZayTech IT Solutions Share company

Product name: ZayRide
Sector: Transportation
Established in: 2016
Number of Employees: 42
Description: ZayRide is the first taxi hailing company, with a quick and convenient mobile app and a 24/7 call center. ZayRide is currently serving 4 cities in Ethiopia and it will soon launch its service in two more cities. With ZayRide, technology meets with transportation

Website: https://www.zayride.com (external link)

Mr. Khaled Saleh Hussein

AFRA IMPORT & EXPORT PLC

Product name: BUY2GO
Sector: B2B E-Commerce
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 132
Description: BUY2GO is B2B e-commerce platform connects the mom-and-pop shops directly to manufactures and suppliers. We exist in the market to serve traditional merchant and modern trading market to get "Best price", "Product variety" and "Delivery" on time, by automating a complete logistics model start with supply, procure, transport, store, and deliver FMCG products.
Website: https://www.buy2goapp.com (external link)

Ms. Tigist Afework Adera

Gooday-Online

Product name: GoodayOn
Sector: Gig Economy/Jobtech
Established in: 2020
Number of Employees: 21
Description: GoodayOn is a leading digital gig marketplace that provides high-precision gig matching for domestic help and home repair services in Ethiopia through a mobile app and a call center.
Website: https://gooday.io (external link)

Dr. Temesgen Gebrehiwot

Zmall Delivery

Product name: ZMALL
Sector: eCommerce, Automation & Logistics
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 110
Description: Zmall is a leading delivery service provider in Addis Ababa, specializing in swift and reliable delivery of food, groceries, beverages, flowers, and medicine. With a dedicated fleet of 50 owned bikes, our professional delivery team ensures a seamless and convenient experience for customers, enhancing their satisfaction and streamlining logistics. Committed to quality and efficiency, Zmall is poised to become the go-to choice for delivery solutions in the region.
Website: https://www.zmalldelivery.com (external link)

Mr. Estifanos Berhanu

eTechsc Technology Company

Product name: ITO service
Sector: End to End Technology Service
Established in: 2020
Number of Employees: 60 (65% Engineers)
Description: Being an End-To-End IT Company, ETech S.C has started engaging in the Global IT Market through its Information Technology Outsourcing/Business Process Outsourcing (ITO/BPO) Service. To contribute towards making Ethiopia a competitive and attractive destination of Global ITO Market, ETech Established an End-To-End ecosystem of national and international IT experts and business professionals with a flexible and entertaining talent acquisition and engagement strategy.
Website: http://www.etechsc.com (external link)

Mr. Ephrem Degaga

Kehonna Technology Trading

Product name: GebeyaX
Sector: Technology
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 35
Description: GebeyaX is an online data driven platform that allows live-access to products, updated price, verified stock and also reliable delivery for construction supplies and spare parts.
Website: https://www.GebeyaX.com (external link)

[Nigeria]

Dr Tunde-Oni Ibukun

Eight medical

Product name: Eight medical
Sector: Health tech
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 20
Description: A platform that connects emergency medical resources (responders, ambulances, hospitals & data) to users in need in 10 mins or less. They use motorcycles & ambulances to provide urgent & emergency care (responses, standby, & transports on land, air & water)
Website: http://www.8medical.co (external link)

Mr. Mubarak Ayanniyi

BetaLife Health

Product name: BetaLife
Sector: Health Tech
Established in: 2021
Number of Employees: 5
Description: BetaLife is leveraging AI to enable blood banks and hospitals to connect in a way never before possible. Our cloud-based platform connects hospitals and blood banks nationwide to ensure the efficient flow of lifesaving blood products to patients in need. BetaLife ensures that hospitals never overpay for blood products or encounter supply shortages.
Website: https://betalifehealth.com (external link)

[Tunisia]

Mr. Jihed Hannachi

MajestEYE

Product name: SkEYE, an AI powered decision system
Sector: Artificial Intelligence
Established in: 2017
Number of Employees: 10
Description: We developed a technology and a methodology that enables our clients to combine high coverage (and hence high predictive performance) with scalability & explainability (in the form of concise & human readable predictive models) so companies can make the best knowledge backed decisions at scale.
Website: https://www.majesteye.com/ (external link)

Mr. Mohamed Dhaouafi

Cure Bionics

Product name: Bionic prosthetic arms
Sector: MedTech
Established in: 2019
Number of Employees: 5-10
Description: Cure Bionics is revolutionizing prosthetics with 3D-printed bionic arms that are customizable, multi-grip, and size-adjustable! Our bionic arms are digitally fitted through remote 3D scanning, making them accessible and affordable worldwide.
Website: https://sleekbio.com/curebionics (external link)

Previous GITEX Global

In October 2022, African startup companies and the government officials such as Ministry of Innovation Technology of Ethiopia (MinT) were invited to GITEX GLOBAL (Home - GITEX GLOBAL - October 2022 - Dubai (external link)).

With the support of JICA, the event featured a variety of pitches, sessions, and meetings with investors and leading global digital companies, including the first large-scale participation of Ethiopian startups. The event also included panel discussions with the Ethiopian and Nigerian governments to promote the potential of African startups.

In addition, MinT's State Minister and five others were invited to meet with JETRO and Japanese startups participating in GITEX. This was the first step to realize the potential of Japanese startups and to linkage between Japanese and Ethiopian startups.

In addition, a tour of the Dubai ecosystem was conducted, including visits to AWS (Amazon Web Service) and local accelerators, which provided an opportunity to deepen our understanding of Dubai.

Startups making pitches

Ethiopian startup booth

Visit and discussion at the Japanese startup booth organized by JETRO

Lecture by JICA

Panel discussion between Nigerian and Ethiopian governments

Visit to AWS and others to understand the Dubai ecosystem