EDTF pledges to empower homegrown solutions through innovative entrepreneurship

February 1, 2025 (FMC) – The Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund (EDTF) in partnership with various stakeholders UNDP, Dereja, and the EYEA organized Great Rift Valley Innovation Summit 2025 under the theme “Empowering Homegrown Solutions through Innovative Entrepreneurship”.

In her remarks at the Summit, Lulite Ejigu, Chairwoman of EDTF, stated that the goal of the organization has always been to unlock the potentials of Ethiopians towards driving change that is inclusive, impactful, and sustainable.

“The Great River Valley Innovation Summit is not just an event, it’s a movement to nurture innovative homegrown solutions to the most pressing challenges and foster collaboration and build a culture of innovation that places Ethiopia at the forefront of entrepreneurship in the continent of Africa.”

“Entrepreneurship is at the heartbeat of economic transformation. This initiative aims to address challenges in healthcare, education and the agriculture sectors through homegrown solutions and fill the financing gap start-ups need and to create a bigger future for Ethiopia,” she explained.

“All the entrepreneurs here are the heart and the soul of this movement. Our goal is to see unicorn companies coming out of Ethiopia, billion dollar companies. We want to use this movement to invest in 50 startups to achieve this goal,” Lulite elaborated.

“The change we seek requires collaboration, persistence, and vision. And let us do so by empowering Ethiopia’s homegrown innovations,” she pointed out.

Public representatives, public figures and a number of members of the Diaspora community attended the summit which was focused on creating a platform that would empower Ethiopian entrepreneurs to thrive, innovate, and contribute to nation’s development.