Following the success of the global award in 2022 won by Ugandan startup Emata, this year saw Ugandan startups claim two of the top awards at the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa Summit recently held in Addis Ababa. The GSA Africa in collaboration with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MOLS), the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) with the support of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) Ethiopia, revealed the names of 16 overall African category winners.
At a spectacular awards ceremony in the Ethiopian capital, Ugandan startups topped two categories, namely, Best Co-working Space and Best Commerce Tech.
The Best Commerce Tech award went to Zofi Cash, a startup that is revolutionising how salaried individuals access their wages, take top honours. “This is not just an accolade for us but a testimony to our bold ideas and daring innovations that distinguish Zofi Cash. This isn’t simply an award but a mandate that echoes our commitment to disrupting the antiquated monthly pay system, a system that promotes inequality and inhibits progress. Yet, our journey has just begun. This victory increases our responsibility to challenge and dismantle the archaic pay cycle. We intend to carry this torch, fuelled by the belief that we can and will reform the status quo together. This award is validation for us. It means it’s not just us seeing the opportunity, but everyone else is seeing it.” commented Paul Kirungi, founder and CEO of Zofi Cash said.
Tech Buzz Hub took the Best Co-working Space award. The company is a hub dedicated to creating inclusive workspaces, with a mission to help young entrepreneurs fulfil their enterprise dreams and vision through coworking spaces and providing facilities and infrastructure. “I feel extremely excited. This is our first award and the first award we have ever entered. This being a continental award that will take us closer to a global award, I can’t feel any better. I can’t control my emotions,” said Keneth Twesigye, CEO of Tech Buzz Hub. “With the big dreams that we have, we believe we are going to move this continent and amplify our growth.”
This year’s Ugandan winners competed against 2,682 entrants from the region and were among more than 8,200 GSA Africa entrants overall.
In March 2023, two Eastern African startups were named Global Winners at last season’s Grand Finale hosted in Copenhagen. Competing against more than 120 companies from 115 countries, Ethiopian green-tech startup, Kubik, was recognised as ‘Startup of the Year’, while the Ugandan fintech, Emata, was proclaimed ‘Best Newcomer’.
This year’s winners will also have the exclusive opportunity to engage with the GIIG Africa Fund, the competition’s dedicated investment partner. Through its GIIG Africa Fund and the GIIG Africa Foundation, the organisation aims to find, fund and grow African solutions to globally relevant challenges.
The year-long competition saw entrants compete at a national level before vying for their spot as regional finalists. Winners were then decided by an independent panel of judges, offering a holistic view of the African tech ecosystem.
Jo Griffiths, co-founder of the GSA Africa and GIIG, highlighted, “The Global Startup Awards Africa aims to raise the visibility of African innovation as a unifying mechanism that transcends borders, cultures, and nationalities as well as the diverse maturity levels of the various startup ecosystems. It provides a common language for us all, fostering understanding and connection, and providing a platform to implement a shared vision of scaled impact.”
Caitlin Nash, co-founder of GSA Africa and GIIG added, “The GSA Africa Summit is an enabler of collaborative transformation – of Africa’s emerging startup nations, founders, and communities leveraging and amplifying Africa’s growing influence in the global community. It is our mission to find and support these operators and innovators of Africa – these are the young leaders with the ideas, energy, local knowledge, commitment and experience that will build this continent. We have an always-on call out for organisations that share this vision to partner with us on our GIIG Fund and Foundation work that delivers this support especially ahead of the new programme starting in January 2024.”
Her Excellency Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Labour and Skills, shared, “Ethiopia has big ambitions. We believe it is our turn to shape tomorrow’s world. It is Africa’s turn to herald a new world, a more equitable, more humanity-centred, and more just world. It will be all of us standing tall, and Africa standing tall, Africa assuming its rightful place in the world, Africa ceasing to be a synonym for poverty, social malaise, and hopelessness, and Africa becoming the new frontier for innovation and economic vitality.” H.E. Kamil encouraged all startups, “As you go home, go home with Africa’s future on your shoulders, with Africa’s dream for salvation in your hearts.”
His Excellency Dr Belete Molla Getahun, Minister of Innovation and Technology, said, “If African countries are to truly reap the benefits of the demographic dividends from their sizeable young population, it is extremely necessary to support entrepreneurship and startups with a sense of urgency and purpose. Here, we must leverage this platform to learn from other countries’ experiences and to share yours as well as your country’s vision of going global by fostering a local innovation ecosystem. This is the building of a community of disrupters ready to make its mark on the global startup ecosystem. The world will soon feel your impact, from Lagos to Lilongwe, Cape Town to Cairo. You are the fearless makers and shakers. With you at the helm, steering us forward, there will be light ahead.”
Additional key partners to the GSA Africa summit included UNICEF Ethiopia, UNDP Ethiopia, Grant Thornton Ethiopia, The Mayor’s Office Addis Ababa, The Development Bank Ethiopia, First Consult, and supported by Loudhailer Global.
