The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Industry have jointly launched the timbuktoo ManuTech Hub in Addis Ababa to support African startups with funding, mentorship, and technical resources.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Industry will provide the space for the hub, which will be completed in early 2025, and welcome its first cohort of startups from around Africa. Call for applications was announced at a public consultation of Ethiopia’s startup proclamation and participants will be selected bi-annually from across Africa. The hub aims to serve as a central point for driving change in the manufacturing sector through the integration of technology and partnerships.
Selected startups will participate in a three-month hybrid accelerator program that includes training, mentorship, access to technology, and guidance to refine their solutions to meet the region’s manufacturing demands. The hub will also provide seed grants to the selected startups.
The hub resonates with Ethiopia’s “Vision 2025” of becoming a manufacturing centre in Africa. In 2019, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unveiled plans to transform Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector, projecting an unprecedented GDP growth rate of 11% per year over the next decade.
Ethiopia has established 18 industrial parks, investing $1 billion and offering incentives such as low wages and standardized energy costs to attract industries. Despite these efforts, the industrial parks have underperformed, preventing the country from achieving its manufacturing goals per a 2023 report by UNDP.
Among other challenges to improve its manufacturing sector, achieving its ambitious goal hinges on training a sufficient number of skilled engineers and addressing technical and managerial expertise gaps to enable the country to compete with global manufacturing giants such as India and Bangladesh.
