Our company has been deploying various technologies and value adding services that can assure the overall growth of our Nation. Especially recently, we have captalized on implementing digital solutions beyond connectivity services to digitize, accelerate and empower individuals’ and enterprises’ day to day business activities.
As part and parcel of this very intiative, our company has designed and officially launched its Ethiotel innovation program today, February 6, 2023 that would empower and support the Nation’s startup digital finance and technological businesses and innovators far beyond its all rounded efforts to expand and modernize services.
Ethiotel innovation program is designed to be implementaed in three chapters mainly to address the challenges that any startup businesses would face such as market penetration, customer attraction and retention, acquiring experts and finance etc and enable business ideas at conception to be realized and existing startups to grow.
In addition to this, the program will encourage local solutions and problem-solving practices, to attract skilled talent, inspire the youth, help people develop new skills, support the development of creative ideas and commercialization of new products that benefit the community as well as to create a collaborative environment for tech startups, technology partners and industry players in order to bring their best and realize digital Ethiopia.
The program consists of support and commercialization packages. The support package would enable the winners to obtain telecom resources, financial and in kind support, marketing support, training, mentoring, coaching, networking and experience sharing. The Commercialization package would also enhance the winners in building the ecosystem and gain support and joint venture for products and services rollout to the market.
Our company has kicked off the first phase program today which will be implemented from February 10 to April 30, 2023, focuses on startups that leverage cloud and mobile financial service capability. In this phase of the competition, top 100 winners will be engaged in solving the challenges and limitations they face, ensure their business continuity as well as immediately implement finance and cloud business ideas into action.
The selected top100 winners/startups will obtain professional, expertise, financial and material support and in collaboration with our technology partner Huawei Technologies shall also receive sponsorship to travel to China and aquire international experiences.
Furthermore, the second phase of the program will be implemented from March 20 – Jul 30, 2023 and beyond finance and the technology sector, the program will emphasis on the implementation of digital contents, solutions, services, analytics, consumer and business applications of selected top 150 startup businesses.
The last phase of the innovation program will begin in August 2023 and will capitalize on institutionalization of the businesses and innovations. Particularly, Ethio telecom will establish TechHub center as well as take best practices from phase 1 & 2 and build research & development center.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our best wish to the first round competitors who are interested to take part in cloud and mobile finace startup businesses and eligible startups can apply via ethiotelinnovation@ethiotelecom.et starting from February 10/2023 to March 12/2023.
As a designer of this innovation program and key player in the ecosystem, our company in collaboration with partners will avail facilities to incubate, train and empower startups/tech-entrepreneurs for the creation of competitive national capacity, build innovation and co-creation platform, create an enabling environment for the digital eco system, supporting projects that address social problems and promote social developments along with partners, thereby positively impacting the development of digital ecosystem and meeting the initiative of the nation to be a startups hub in the continent.
February 6, 2023
Ethio telecom