The Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) have announced that Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, will host the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa Summit in October 2023.
Taking place at the newly inaugurated Museum of Art and Science, the annual GSA Africa Summit 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 to explore potential partnership opportunities.
A gala dinner will see 15 regional finalists named winners of the 2022/23 season of GSA Africa. As African winners, these startups will be recognised 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.
“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. 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,” said GIIG and GSA Africa co-founder Jo Griffiths.
