TECHgrow entered the next round

TECHgrow offers participating startups from East Africa valuable technical support and promotes long-term cooperation between Africa and Germany in the field of sustainable innovation.

In March 2025, TECHgrow entered a new phase, continuing its cooperation with East African startups. Following an intensive selection process involving more than 200 applications, 13 startups from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, among others, from the GreenTech, Smart Manufacturing, HealthTech, and AgriTech sectors have been accepted into the program. TECHgrow is a module of the TECH4Transition project and focuses on strengthening the link between research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The two phases of the program

Hybrid development program

The program consists of two phases. In the first phase, the selected startups participate in a customized hybrid development program organized by TECHgrow and its partners, such as Circle Innovation.

The startups receive support in both technical product development and business model development, which strengthens the overall innovation capacity of the participants.

Study trip to KIT

A highlight for participants who make it to the second phase is a customized study trip to KIT and the German innovation ecosystem, which gives participants deeper insights into the research and corporate culture there. This phase builds on the experiences of the first phase and opens up further opportunities for startups to scale their business models and products.

Goals of TECHgrow

The aim of the program is not only to support startups in developing their business ideas, but also to facilitate access to advanced research and technology. Another key objective of TECHgrow is to promote cooperation between relevant players in the innovation ecosystem in East Africa and Germany and to enable the exchange of knowledge and experience. Peer-to-peer learning at various levels is also a focus.

TECHgrow not only offers participating startups valuable technical support, but also promotes long-term cooperation between Africa and Germany in the field of sustainable innovation. This is an important step toward strengthening entrepreneurship in East Africa and paving the way for new, sustainable solutions.

TECH4Transition was developed by KIT and is being implemented in cooperation with GIZ.