Services

Enabling Environment and Ecosystem Building

At EDI, we believe that entrepreneurship thrives in a supportive and collaborative environment. Our Ecosystem Building & Enabling Environment function is designed to nurture a dynamic, inclusive, and resilient ecosystem where startups and businesses can grow sustainably. Through strategic partnerships, policy advocacy, research, and targeted startup support, we address systemic barriers and unlock new opportunities across Ethiopia's entrepreneurial landscape.

Focus Areas

Advocating for Policy Reforms

Shaping a future where entrepreneurs lead with fewer barriers and more opportunities. We champion bold and inclusive policy reforms that create a favourable environment for entrepreneurs to thrive.

Key Objectives

• Influence entrepreneurship-friendly, inclusive regulatory reforms: Advocate for the design and implementation of progressive regulations that lower entry barriers, protect entrepreneurs’ rights, and ensure fair opportunities for startups and MSMEs across diverse sectors and regions.
• Remove systemic bottlenecks affecting MSMEs and early-stage ventures: Identify and address structural challenges—such as complex licensing, limited access to finance, and rigid tax regimes—that hinder the growth and sustainability of small businesses and new ventures.
• Embed entrepreneurship into national policy priorities: Integrate entrepreneurship into key national development strategies and economic plans by ensuring policies across education, finance, trade, and innovation explicitly support startup growth and job creation.

How We Deliver

• Policy Labs & Roundtables: Host regular stakeholder convenings (e.g., NEST forums) to surface key policy issues and co-develop recommendations.
• Entrepreneur Policy Advisory Board: Form a cross-sector advisory group made up of entrepreneurs, legal experts, and policymakers to feed real-time insights into national policies.
• Regulatory Feedback Mechanism: Create a digital platform where entrepreneurs can report policy barriers directly to EDI for escalation and tracking.
• Policy Fellowship (Public Entrepreneurship) Programs: Deploy policy fellows to ministries, regulatory bodies, and key government organizations to embed entrepreneurship-friendly thinking in government.
• Collaborators: Government ministries, regulatory agencies, chamber of commerce and sectoral associations, development partners.

Strengthening Linkages Between Ecosystem Actors

We build bridges between key ecosystem actors to foster synergy and collective impact. Our work builds meaningful relationships across government, academia, investors, development partners, and the private sector to co-create collective impact.

Key Objectives

• Enable cross-sector collaboration and shared platforms: Facilitate meaningful partnerships across government, private sector, academia, and development actors by creating shared spaces—both physical and digital—for dialogue, innovation, and resource exchange.
• Promote synergy between innovation hubs, financial institutions, and academia: Encourage coordinated programming, joint initiatives, and knowledge transfer between key ecosystem players to support entrepreneurial talent, access to capital, and research-driven innovation.
• Foster ecosystem-wide alignment around national priorities: Mobilize ecosystem actors around shared national development goals—such as youth employment, digital transformation, or climate resilience—through collective strategy-setting and co-implementation frameworks.

How We Deliver

• National Ecosystem Network Platform: Develop an online ecosystem mapping and matchmaking tool that visualizes actors, services, and partnership opportunities.
• Annual Ecosystem Summit: Organize a high-profile summit to bring together ecosystem builders, founders, investors, and government to co-create national priorities.
• Thematic Working Groups: Facilitate sector- or issue-specific collaborations (e.g., agritech, green economy, youth startups) that align goals and pool resources.
• Joint Innovation Challenges: Partner with corporates, NGOs, and public agencies to launch co-funded startup competitions and problem-solving labs.
• Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Host: National lead for GEW, celebrating innovation through curated events and startup showcases.
• Collaborators: Government, universities, TVTs, hubs, private sector, industry bodies, development partners, and private sector champions.

Generating Insights Through Ecosystem Research

Informed decisions start with smart data. We drive insight generation by researching entrepreneurship trends, challenges, and opportunities, helping actors across the ecosystem make better decisions.

Key Objectives

• Identify gaps, challenges, and emerging trends: Conduct in-depth ecosystem research to uncover structural barriers, untapped opportunities, and shifting dynamics that affect entrepreneurial growth across sectors and regions.
• Offer evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders: Translate research insights into actionable guidance tailored for policymakers, investors, support organizations, and development partners to inform impactful decision-making.
• Provide data for strategic planning and policy advocacy: Equip ecosystem actors with reliable, timely data to shape effective strategies, influence policy reforms, and align initiatives with the real needs of entrepreneurs.

How We Deliver

• MSMEs/startup Pulse Survey: Conduct regular nationwide surveys to capture entrepreneurs’ experiences, challenges, and needs.
• Ecosystem Intelligence Dashboard: Build a data dashboard that tracks KPIs like funding raised, startups supported, and support service coverage across regions.
• Research Collaborations: Partner with universities, think tanks, and development partners for joint studies on entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Insight Briefs & Reports: Publish quarterly research briefs on key topics (e.g., digital entrepreneurship, access to finance, female founders) to inform decisions.
• Collaborators: Academic institutions, data providers, policy units, development partners funded research programs.

Assessing Ecosystem Maturity

We assess what’s working—and what’s next.Knowing the current state of the ecosystem helps us prioritize interventions, target support, and measure what matters.

Key Objectives

• Measure strengths, weaknesses, and growth potential: Use comprehensive assessment tools to evaluate the ecosystem’s current state, spotlighting areas of excellence as well as those needing targeted support and investment.
• Identify systemic leverage points for transformation: Pinpoint critical factors and actors that can catalyse broad-based improvements, ensuring interventions are focused where they can have the most transformative impact.
• Track ecosystem performance across regions and time: Monitor progress using data-driven indicators, enabling continuous learning and comparison across geographic areas and development stages for smarter ecosystem planning.

How We Deliver

• Ecosystem Health Scorecard: Use globally recognized frameworks (e.g., ANDE metrics, GALI insights) adapted to Ethiopia’s context to measure performance.
• Stakeholder Self-Assessments: Facilitate self-diagnosis tools for ecosystem actors (e.g., hubs, universities, incubators) to track their own contributions.
• Regional Benchmarking: Compare regional ecosystem development across Ethiopia to identify lagging areas and opportunities for targeted support.
• Progress Reports: Issue annual “State of the Ecosystem” reports that capture changes, track reforms, and celebrate ecosystem milestones.
• Collaborators: Ecosystem builders, regional governments, donor agencies, international benchmarking bodies.

End-to-End Startup Support Programs

From idea to investment—we are there every step of the way. Our comprehensive support services help founders turn bold ideas into sustainable, scalable ventures.

Key Objectives

• Equip founders with essential skills, tools, and networks: Provide entrepreneurs with tailored training, practical resources, and strategic connections to help them build resilient and competitive ventures.
• Support startups through incubation, acceleration, and beyond: Deliver structured support programs—from idea validation to scale-up—that address startups' unique needs at every stage of their journey.
• Enable access to funding, markets, and investment readiness: Facilitate linkages to investors, grant-makers, and market entry pathways, while preparing startups to confidently secure and manage growth capital.

How We Deliver

• EDI Flagship Programs: Run structured programs such as incubation, acceleration, and founder bootcamps across regions.
• Mentorship Network: Build and manage a vetted national mentor pool with sector experts, business advisors, and successful entrepreneurs.
• Startup Toolkit & Learning Platform: Offer digital resources (templates, courses, legal guides) to support founder learning at scale.
• Investor Readiness & Matchmaking Events: Prepare startups for investment and organize pitching events, demo days, and investor roundtables.
• Access to Grants & Innovative Financing: Partner with financial institutions and donors to provide startup funding instruments tailored to early-stage needs.
• Collaborators: Angel investors, accelerators, financial institutions, corporate partners, and development programs.