Project NINJA

On June 20, 2023, JICA and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia (MInT) held "JICA Ethiopia Startup pitch in Japan" as part of JICA's Project NINJA (Next Innovation with Japan) [1] with approximately 310 participants at JICA Headquarters in Japan and via online. Through pitches by 6 startups working to solve issues in Ethiopia, the event provided an opportunity to inform people about the attractiveness of Ethiopia's startups and ecosystem. In addition, the Minister and the State Minister of MInT, 9 MInT officers, and the Ethiopian Ambassador to Tokyo participated at the venue of Japan, which became the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Japanese companies’ activities in Africa.

Mr. Selamyhun Adefris of MInT had a presentation on "Startups in Ethiopia," explaining that the country has a population of approximately 120 million people, is urbanizing, the business environment is improving with the entry of companies such as Safaricom, cell phone ownership is increasing, and more than 80 ecosystem system supporters (accelerators, etc.), and other attractions of Addis Ababa's ecosystem. Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, senior advisor of Ridgelinez Limited, then introduced a demonstration project in Ghana using blockchain to change behaviors related to nutrition improvement under the theme of "Blockchain in Africa". Mr. Shibusawa Ken, chairman of the Global South Africa Committee, Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), gave an overview of the establishment of the impact fund under the theme of "Investment in Africa from Japan”.
After that, 6 startups selected from among about 100 applicants for the acceleration program made pitches, and the first and second place winners were decided by the votes of judges Mr. Imura Ken, manager of Innovation Strategy Unit, Industry & Function Department of Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co. and Mr. Sato Hiroyuki.

WeCare digital Health, which provides online health counseling services, and Gebeta Software PLC, which provides mapping services using API services, took first and second place, respectively, and were presented with trophies by the Minister and State Minister.
Japanese companies participated in the Q&A session after the pitches, and we could sense the high level of interest in African and Ethiopian startups. The face-to-face meeting in Japan also provided an opportunity for Ethiopian participants and Japanese companies to interact with each other after the event. JICA and MInT will continue to support the formation of ecosystems for startup development in Ethiopia.

Video: Video of the day will be posted here.

• Video of the day's seminar (English)

Materials of the day: Materials of the day will be posted.

• Document of the day's seminar (English)

Event Details

• Event Title: Ethiopia Startup pitch in Japan
• Co-organized by: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia (MInT)
• Date: Tuesday, June 20th, 2023,9:30am-12:00am (East African Time: Ethiopia time), 3:30-6:00pm (Japanese time)
• Place: JICA Takebashi Headquarters in Japan, online (Zoom Webinar)
• Interpretation: English/Japanese (simultaneous interpretation)

9:30am (3:30pm)	Opening remarks (H.E Dr. Belete Molla Getahun , MInT)
9:40am (3:40pm)	Lecture 1 : Startups in Ethiopia Speaker: Mr. Selamyihun Adeffris, Innovation development Lead CEO, MInT
9:50am (3:50pm)	Lecture 2 : Leveraging Blockchain in Africa Speaker: Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, Senior Advisor Ridgelinez Limited
10:00am (4:00pm)	Lecture 3 : Investment from Japan to Africa Speaker: Mr. Shibusawa Ken, Chairman, Global South Africa Committee, Keizai Doyukai
10:15am (4:15pm)	Pitches by 6 Ethiopian startups and Q & A from Judges Judges: Mr. Imura Satoshi manager of Innovation Strategy Unit, Industry & Function Department of Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co. Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, Senior Advisor Ridgelinez Limited
11:40am (5:40pm)	Q&A session with startups from the public Public voting and awards for startups Award of the top two companies
11:50am (5:50pm)	Closing remarks (H.E. Daba Debele, Ethiopian ambassador in Japan)

Startup Speakers

1. Guzo Technologies PLC ( Extended Reality（XR）)
Presenter: Mr. Daniel Getachew
Founded: 2019, Number of employees: 10 +
Video: Video about Guzo Technologies PLC (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

2. Fibermart Trading Company (EnergyKiosk)
Presenter: Mr. Dek Ali Tunyar
Founded: 2018, Number of employees: 10+
Video: Video about Fibermart Trading Company (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

3. Storm Online technologies/Shemach (B2B e-commerce)
Presenter: Mr. Dawit Nigusu
Established: 2022, Number of employees: 28
Video: Video about Storm Online technologies/Shemach (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

4. Commerce 360/Taywan (Retail-Tech)
Presenter: Mr. Amein Eskinder
Established: 2020, Number of employees: 20+
Video: Video about Commerce 360/Taywan (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

5. Gebeta Software PLC/Gebeta Map (Location based services)
Presenter: Mr. Bemhreth Gezahegn
Founded: 2021, Number of employees: 5+
Video: Video about Gebeta Software PLC/Gebeta Map (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

6. WeCare digital Health (Health Tech)
Presenter: Dr. Michael Endale
Founded: 2021, Number of employees: 10+
Video: Video about WeCare digital Health (Japanese and English)
Video links will be shared later.

Voting Results

The following two companies were selected as a result of voting by online participants and a panel of three judges.

・First place in the voting: WeCare digital Health (Health Tech)

・Second place in the voting: Gebeta Software PLC/Gebeta Map (Location based services)

Minister providing a trophy to WeCare digital Health (Dr. Michael)

Scene at the venue

Lecture by Mr. Sato Hiroyuki, Ridgelinez Limited

6 startups answering questions

Pitch by Commerce 360/Taywan (Mr. Amein)