Ethiopia

The Solve IT Experience

By Heldana Michael

For an outsider, Solve IT is just work for the iCog team and another tech competition for the participants. Yet, Solve IT is a lot more. I want you to imagine a place where you meet new people, spend days and nights with these people, visit mind-blowing sites, and create a tech-savvy network. An environment where you improve on who you are as a person and help others improve as well. A place where laughter and memories are never-ending. Now imagine all of this coming together into one place: that is Solve IT.

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Futbol: The Beautiful Game

By Heldana Michael

Futbol! The prince of sports! A brain sport in this case. Where students sweat their brains to enable robots to play this great game.

The fourth RoboSoccer Cup was held between the days of August 16th and 17th at Kana Studio alongside Solve IT 2019. Although only three of the expected four teams showed up to the tournament, each of these teams was phenomenal in their respective games and gave the other team a run for their money. Our newest addition to the team was Bahir Dar University and the team proved to be an equally tough team to beat. Moreover, the members of this team were high school students coming from the university’s (Bahir Dar) STEM center.
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Problem Solving? You mean Solve IT?

By Heldana Michael

Several projects. One competition. Multiple winners. These three phrases describe exactly what Solve IT 2019 is. Solve IT goes above and beyond than being another competition for start-ups. It is a chance for the youthful competitors to work on their personal growth, make new friendships, and improve their community.

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Extra, extra! Solve IT 2019 is Here

By Heldana Michael

Solve IT 2019 is coming to its end, and the Grand Finale is approaching. The Solve IT 2019 team along with its partners– the U.S. Embassy and JICA– is super busy with last-minute preparations for the August 17, 2019 closing. Everyone is looking forward to the finale, yet everyone is shunning it anxiously.

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Ethiopia’s tech startups are ready to run the world, but the internet keeps getting blocked

By Abdi Latif Dahir

Getnet Assefa shuffled uneasily in his office seat and wondered aloud why he couldn’t connect to the internet on his laptop.

It was mid-morning on Tuesday (June 11), and even though he didn’t know it yet, it was the beginning of the latest days-long internet cutoff. Authorities in Ethiopia disrupted connectivity nationwide to prevent students from cheating in national exams. Social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram were restricted, SMS text messaging disabled, leaving banks, businesses and tech startups left in a quandary.

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The Youngest Tech Pioneer in Ethiopia

Betelhem Dessie’s initiatives have taught 20,000 children how to code, launching Ethiopia’s next generation toward a successful future in tech, writes Thomas Lewton

Ethiopia, despite nearly 20 years of steady economic growth, still has one of the lowest GDPs per capita in the world. While the majority of the country contributes to its agriculture-based economy, growing sectors of tech-savvy youths are forging a new path.

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The city where innovation is driven By necessity

By Thomas Lewton

“I am young, ambitious and ready to transform my country, Ethiopia,” Selam Wondim announces to a conference room packed with high-profile executives and politicians in one of Addis Ababa’s most prestigious hotels. Read More

Ethiopia’s Long March

By Hruy Tsegaye

Towards Sustainable Tech Markets

In Ethiopia, it is customary to confuse technology as a by-product of development. Unfortunately, it is not only the average Joe or Jane who holds this erroneous belief, but most government officials and policymakers along with administrators in the public universities. Yet, technology is a tool for development.

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