Gebeya Inc, an Ethiopian company that focuses on ed tech and online software outsourcing has closed a $2 million (Kshs 200 million) seed round led by several investors.
The seed round was co led by Partech and Ornge Digital Ventures and followed b Consonance Investment managers.
“This investment, made possible by global investment firms dedicated to Africa’s technological advancements, marks a pivotal moment for Gebeya,” Amadou Daffe, Gebeya’s CEO and Co-founder said. “Through this investment, Gebeya will be at the forefront of the digitization and utilization of Africa’s potential.”
This fundng round follows a $500,000 grant Gebeya received from the International Finance Corporation to provide scholarships to aspiring female software engineers. They will train a total of 250 female engineers in DevOps, Mobile application, UX/UI engineering, Back-End/Front-End Engineering and Business Analysis.
Gebeya was founded in 2016 and over time has graduated over 600 tech talents of which a third have been matched with startups across Africa and the world.
Gebeya plans to scale its training and marketplace services in West Africa as well as launch its online African tech marketplace. “We are truly excited to be working with such a great group of investors,” Hiruy Amanuel, Gebeya’s co-founder said. “They have been very supportive of our initiatives through the ears and naturally, the relationship has matured into early-stage funding.”
Ethiopia is a potential huge market for all sorts of industries and tech is one of them. It has a population of roughly 100 million and they are working on having a competent startup hub which will be on the same level as Nigeria, Egypt or Kenya. Investments like this to Ethiopian startups like Gebeya will definitely shine a spotlight to their budding ecosystem.
