Make-IT Ecosystem Accelerator in East & West Africa

July – September 2017

The Make-IT programme aims to bolster the ecosystem for growth-stage inclusive tech startups in East and West Africa during their quest to scale.  Contracted by the GIZ to carry-out the development and implementation of an accelerator in Kenya and Nigeria, endeva partnered with Konnektiv, Gearbox and Nailab in Kenya, and Co-Creation Hub in Nigeria.

Overseeing the concept phase, Konnektiv was brought on by endeva to assess the gaps and needs in services for the startups, develop a modular and sustainable portfolio of activities and formats to address these identified needs, and devise a plan to test the formats with the local partners. As senior advisor, Geraldine de Bastion provided high-level advice and support to co-develop the concept of the Make-IT ecosystem accelerator. This included developing and disseminating questionnaires to assess the needs of startups and startup support providers and concept development and mapping based on the results of the needs assessment.

The Make-IT Alliance is an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), companies, social entrepreneurs and associations to support the development of tech start-ups in emerging and developing countries and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The GIZ has been commissioned to implement the piloting programme Make-IT in Africa over a two-year period in Kenya and Nigeria. The goal is to promote growth and employment in the digital economy as an input to the national ICT strategies.

Konnektiv has collaborated with the GIZ on another Make-IT in Africa initiative overseeing the selection of startups to attend the Startup Fair at the EU-AU Business Summit in Abidjan.