UK-based social change foundation Indigo Trust has awarded a GBP20,000 (US$30,000) grant to Addis Ababa incubation hub xHub in order to help it increase its activities in the country.
Indigo Trust has been a strong supporter of Africa’s innovation ecosystem, awarding grants to hubs such as Cameroon’s ActivSpaces, Uganda’s HiveColan, Ghana’s iSpace and Tanzania’s KINU, and support organisation AfriLabs. It has also assisted startups such as Totoheath.
This support has continued with the grant for xHub, which launched last year and is bidding to play a key role in Ethiopia’s growing tech community. Disrupt Africa reported recently it had signed a collaboration agreement with fellow Addis-based hub iceaddis.
The grant money will contribute towards the hub’s core costs, with Indigo Trust saying Addis Ababa was alive with innovation and that it is happy to support the rising numbers of IT graduates establishing startups.
“The Indigo Trust is delighted to award its first grant in Ethiopia. We’re excited to see how an innovation space can help to bring together the tech community and other relevant stakeholders to solve societal challenges and we’re excited to have come across such a strong and enthusiastic team to drive this initiative forward,” said Indigo Trust executive Dr Loren Treisman.
“We look forward to working with you in the process of building a thriving hub in Addis Ababa and empowering and inspiring tech entrepreneurs across the country”
xHub manager Kibrom Tadesse told Disrupt Africa his hub believed in a vision and had launched due to its trust in the capacity of young Ethiopian entrepreneurs.
“One year on, we are encouraged to receive the grant from the Indigo Trust inspiring us to move forward towards achieving our goal and playing our part in the ecosystem,” he said.
