Venture Meda To Provide Ethiopian Startups With Funding, Acceleration To Boost Job Creation

The Mastercard Foundation, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), and iceaddis have launched a five-year project called Venture Meda that aims to boost job creation in the country by providing startups with funding and acceleration support.

Officially entitled “Job Creation through Incubation and Acceleration Support in Ethiopia,” the program aims to give 56,160 young women and men experiencing poverty access to direct jobs by creating 100 e-commerce startups and 3,240 small businesses.

The program will also indirectly create additional job opportunities for 77,000 young people by providing seed funding to at least 100 early and growth stage startups through incubation and acceleration programs.

Seed funding will be awarded to all selected startups, while 10 companies will receive up to US$50,000. Entry to the incubator is free and open to teams or companies in Ethiopia with innovative ideas, products, or ventures that can solve real-life problems.

Applications close on September 25.