Ethiopia: Supporting Start-Ups in Addis Ababa

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Two aid workers from Germany’s GIZ are now nurturing start-ups in the Ethiopian capital – from a text messaging service for job seekers to bamboo ramps for skateboarders.

The offices of start-up hub iceaddis appear lifted from the set of a science fiction film and deposited in the leafy confines of Addis Ababa University.

Despite the futuristically edgy look of rust-red colored transport containers stacked asymmetrically atop each other, iceaddis remains deeply rooted in the surrounding local communities. The prefix “ice” stands for innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship.

Iceaddis encourages young Ethiopian entrepreneurs to invent and develop affordable and sustainable products and services.

“We provide a space where you can go a little crazy, experiment, play around with that prototype and see if you might actually be able to turn it into a business,” said 38-year-old Oliver Petzoldt, one of iceaddis’ co-founders.
This is the key to successful product development wherever your location may be, but many products often never get off the ground for lack of experimental opportunity, Petzoldt explained.

Iceaddis runs workshops covering a range of eclectic creative endeavours, from how to build mini skateboard ramps out of bamboo to how to develop mobile apps using the Android system.

The mobile phone as the key to the future?

Telecommunications is still in the hands of a state monopoly in Ethiopia and the country is governed by an authoritarian regime. State-owned Internet and mobile phone networks remain notoriously unreliable. However, apps could play an increasingly bigger role as Internet penetration, currently low by African standards, deepens, and the networks gradually improve.

Ethiopia, which has a population of some 85 million, currently has 20.3 million mobile subscribers. As elsewhere in Africa, many of them sign up and start with smart phones.

Newly created apps could also be marketed to users in other African countries with better established telecommunications networks.

Producing something flashy is not the priority, rather supporting communities by turning ideas into viable businesses.

One business idea nurtured by iceaddis is MoSera, which provides an SMS-based job portal for Addis Ababa’s daily laborers.

Many of them do not have Internet access, but they will be able to receive text messages from potential employers via MoSera about offers of work.

MoSera has just finished a successful pilot phase and is about to be launched for use by the general public.

“Hopes are high due to SMS-based businesses being well placed thanks to mobile penetration being on the up,” said 29-year-old Markos Lemma, another iceaddis co-founder. Income will come from a tiny fee about one birr (five US cents, four euro cents) added to each normal SMS charge.