The NTF Project aims to bring African startups to the international market

Many African startups have the skills to compete in international markets, but for many investors, Africa is not on their radar. A number of programs and initiatives are nonetheless trying to change that narrative.

The overall purpose of the Netherlands Trust Fund (NTF) project is to boost the competitiveness of innovators in certain sectors within priority developing countries and help bring their products to international markets, increasing the generation of export revenues. This project was designed to engage and scale innovative startups, provide more end-to-end solutions, and ultimately become a key driver in developing the tech sectors of select countries.

In Uganda and Senegal, the NTF project aims to address challenges facing their nascent tech industries, including increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs in the information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITES) sectors, ultimately increasing the export of “Made in Africa” IT and ITES products.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC), Barcelona event brings together mobile operators, startups, tech hardware manufacturers, regulators, and investors, among other stakeholders. And through the NTF project, selected Ugandan and Senegalese startups got a chance to pitch their ideas to potential international investors at the event