EDI Partners with Jimma University and Ministry of Health to Scale Award-Winning Health Innovation

The Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) participated in a high-level consultative meeting at Jimma University on February 17, 2026, to support the transition of the Local Production of Antibiotic Discs (LoPAD) project from a laboratory success to a full-scale commercial manufacturing enterprise. As a global winner of the 2024 WHO LEAD Innovation Award, the LoPAD project has successfully concluded its experimental phase. The initiative aims to eliminate Ethiopia's reliance on imported diagnostic tools by producing Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) discs locally, thereby strengthening the national healthcare infrastructure.

Representing EDI at the forum, Deputy CEO Boru Shana delivered a session titled Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Pathways. Mr. Boru emphasized that for health innovations to remain sustainable, they must be supported by robust business models, entrepreneurial mindsets, and clear paths to market. He noted that EDI’s primary role is to ensure that groundbreaking scientific achievements like LoPAD transcend the laboratory setting. By providing the necessary entrepreneurial framework and incubation support, EDI seeks to transform this innovation into a competitive, local manufacturing powerhouse.

The meeting strengthened a strategic partnership among key national and international actors, effectively creating a comprehensive health innovation ecosystem. This collaboration integrates the technical and research expertise of Jimma University with the Ministry of Health’s National Health Innovation Incubation and Acceleration Program. Additionally, WHO Ethiopia provides global technical standards and insights, while the Ministry of Education focuses on strengthening academia-industry technology transfer. Within this framework, EDI is responsible for driving commercialization, entrepreneurship training, and the broader scale-up strategy.

The primary objectives of this scale-up include achieving national self-reliance by reducing dependence on imported medical supplies and combating antimicrobial resistance through strengthened national surveillance. Furthermore, the project is expected to stimulate economic growth by creating jobs and enhancing Ethiopia’s manufacturing capacity in the biotechnology sector while ensuring all production aligns with international Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.

The event concluded with a laboratory demonstration of validated workflows. Moving forward, EDI will continue to work closely with the LoPAD team to develop the institutional and entrepreneurial requirements essential for a sustainable transition to national-scale production. Through this partnership, EDI reaffirms its commitment to enhancing innovation-led entrepreneurship that addresses critical national challenges within the health sector.