Naa Sika is a winning team of the DIA
In the end it was a close call but the jury has decided. We are happy to announce the 12 teams that emerged as winners of our Digital Innovation Accelerator Programme. The portfolio of the selected winners illustrate the importance of digital innovations especially in the sectors of gender, education and climate action.
“We have identified the opportunities of digital innovation especially in the sectors of gender equality, education and climate action. These winning start-ups of the Digital Innovation Accelerator Programme are a vivid example of innovative approaches to some of the most pressing global issues.” – Clemens Kapler,
BMZ Division ‚Digital technologies in development cooperation‘
At the end of October, 47 start-ups of our Digital Innovation Accelerator Programme handed in revised documents to show the international jury the result of their hard work and progress throughout the last 6 months of the programme. Documents such as business and financial plans provided the basis for the jury’s assessment. In the past weeks, 17 members of our international jury evaluated the progress of the startups and have now selected the 12 winning teams.
The jury was composed of professionals from the digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem from each of the five target countries. With many years of experience as founders and entrepreneurs, as coaches and business developers in local ecosystems as well as investors, the jury represented a very diverse mix of professionals.
In the end, the Jury selected 3 teams from Ghana, 2 teams from Ethiopia, 1 team from Senegal, 3 teams from Indonesia and 3 teams from Mexico as the winners of our Digital Innovation Accelerator Programme. From digital platforms that empower small-holder farmers with precision farming to ‘low-tech’ platforms providing access to education for marginalised students – the 12 winning teams are living examples of how local digital innovations are supporting communities leapfrog to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In the next step, the winning teams will receive further tailored support worth up to 15.000 €. This type of support is targeted towards the individual needs of each start-up in order to further develop their innovations and to scale up. The teams will also profit from the network of Innovation Factory and GIZ.
We are excited to see where the journey is going for each start-up! Stay tuned for more news and updates & follow us on Twitter and Facebook.