HU, GIZ (PSD-E), organize awareness creation workshop on Business Incubation Program.
Hawassa University in collaboration with GIZ Private Sector Development in Ethiopia (PSD-E) organizes a day long workshop meant for awareness creation and promotion of students’ entrepreneurship ideas developed in its two business incubation centers set at the Institute of Technology. HU has two incubation centers, Technology Business Incubation Center (TBIC) and Agricultural Business Incubation Center (ABIC), which support graduate students with viable and bankable business ideas to start up a business. These centers have been contributing to the development of small and medium scale manufacturing industries in the country helping to spur innovation and job creation.
President of HU, Dr, Ayano Baraso, in his opening speech said that the university is one of the first generation and well established universities in Ethiopia with 30 thousand plus student population enrolled in 309 academic programs. He also pointed out the fact that HU has recently been nationally differentiated as a research university so it is highly striving for quality education, engaging in advanced level multidisciplinary activities including, teaching and learning, conducting problem-solving researches, establishing business incubation centers that help the students and teachers to generate research ideas and prototypes to practical and product development initiatives in collaboration with national and international partners. Dr. Ayano further explained that the university is massively working on international and national collaborations currently running 72 international collaborative projects with more than 100 partner institutions and universities. He also noted that such workshops are essential to create awareness and common platform for discussion and experience sharing among all stake holders in order to score significant goals in the areas of entrepreneurship.
Dr. Fasika Bete, Scientific Director at Institute of Technology (HU), said on his part that at the moment, there are so many prototypic ideas on robotics, drip irrigation, business, banking and insurance oriented digital technologies which are waiting for further enrichment to be changed to practical activities in collaboration with donors and stake holders. He mentioned that more than 20 technologies that boost and make the lives of societies easier were disseminated to the community in the last eight years.
More than 60 participants from incubation centers at Dilla, Arbaminch and Wolaita Sodo universities have attended the workshop where Mr. Fasil Abate from GIZ-PSDE presented an overview of the program in Ethiopian universities including HU and Mr. Dawit Tilahun, an expert in business incubation, presented challenges and opportunities of university-based incubation centers as well as ways of networking with key stakeholders for better achievements. The platform also included panel discussion and experience sharing on success stories of invited startup business owners.
