Between 16 to 20 October 2025, representatives from 1888EC and R&D Group participated in the BIC Africa Staff Exchange Programme in Luanda, Angola. This second-round staff exchange programme, building on the success of the first exchange held in May in Ethiopia, whereby two Angolan incubation managers visited R&D Group and 1888EC.
Abnet Tadesse Belayneh, CEO of loanlinket at 1888EC and Ewinetim Awoke, Ewintim Awoke Misikir, Business Development Support Lead at R&D Group visited Acelera Angola, ISPTEC’s SonaJovem 5.0, and Founder Institute Luanda, engaging directly with incubator managers and supported startups. They had a tailored direct exchange and visit to three incubators where they explored and dived deeper into the Angolan innovation and startup ecosystem as well as visited some local startups.
The BIC Africa Staff Exchange Programme provided an inter-regional learning experience, offering practical exposure, peer learning, and invaluable insights into incubator operations and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in Angola. This hands-on approach fostered a deep understanding of successful models and practices.
Ewinetim Awoke, R&D Group Ethiopia
The exchange showcased how Angola’s entrepreneurship ecosystem blends corporate–academic partnerships, stage-gated venture pipelines, and global-local linkages to drive startup success and investment readiness. This enabled the Ethiopian Business Incubator managers to relate their situation to those of the Angolan incubators and adopt some of the learnings to their local context in Ethiopia. The ongoing collaboration continues to foster mutual learning, cross-border partnerships, and shared strategies to support entrepreneurs and startups across the two ecosystems. We thank the host business incubators, the Angola Incubation project implemented by IFC and the EU delegation to Angola and other partners for supporting the successful exchanges.
We’re proud to successfully run four exchange programmes for 13 business incubation experts representing 12 business incubators from Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia and Madagascar. This strategic staff exchange initiative, funded by the European Union and implemented by EBN – European Business & Innovation Centre Network in collaboration with the Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia, and Madagascar country projects. Our goal is to reinforce business incubation capacities and foster cross-border collaboration across African innovation ecosystems, by strengthening networks and promoting collaborative development among African business incubators.
These exchanges reflect BIC Africa’s commitment to supporting the regional network and ecosystem support across the target countries, by strengthening networks and promoting collaborative development among African incubators. The BIC Africa staff exchange programme is a key strategical initiative for practical peer-to-peer knowledge transfer among African BIs within the BIC Africa target countries.
Read about the past editions Here