Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: September 26 (EI) – OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), are set to launch start-up acceleration initiative, dubbed Impulse Program, in Ethiopia with an aim to build linkages between corporations and start-ups through
The 12-week acceleration program, among other things, envisaged to promote innovative startups in the fields of agritech, biotech, mining tech and materials science and Nano-engineering, the OCP Group disclosed on Thursday.
“Following the success of similar Impulse programs in Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, OCP Africa is making a last stop in Ethiopia, to convene with key stakeholders from the agriculture, entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems,” the Group said in a statement.
Mehdi Filani, OCP Ethiopia Country Director, said that the agricultural transformation in Ethiopia “represents a unique opportunity for Agritech start-ups and we believe the Impulse start-up acceleration program can add value to develop Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, through innovative technologies.”
The Impulse program mainly targets start-ups operating in fields related to the value chain of OCP Group and UM6P’s research agenda to help Africa’s agriculture sector increase its productivity in a sustainable manner.
Adnane Soulimani, Impulse Program Director, also expressed his enthusiasm about the opportunity to present the Impulse Accelerator to Ethiopian entrepreneurs, saying that “Impulse can play a significant role in the acceleration of innovative technologies that are transforming agri-businesses and smallholder farming techniques in Ethiopia, a country where over eighty percent of the population is engaged in agriculture.”
As part of the initiatives aspiration that mainly aimed to accelerate the development of innovative start-ups including mentoring and coaching as well as access to potential business opportunities, the newly unveiled program also offers study trips to the ecosystems of Boston and Lausanne as well as a 250,000 U.S. dollars cash prize to be shared among winning start-ups on the demo day, it was noted.
