For the last 2 years and 3 months, I’ve been living in Ethiopia building a startup (of which we’re just one step away from launching). Utilizing a mix of technical and regulatory acumen, I, along with my team, have brought the startup to just one step (an approval for a government API) away from launching. I’m writing this blog post to share as a guide to those who are also interested in building a startup here.
Maintaining a PLC
If you start a company in Ethiopia, paperwork will be something you (and especially your General Manager) will be accustomed to. For that reason, if you wish to be abroad while starting your company in Ethiopia, you’ll need a Power of Attorney. I’ve never heard of someone handle their paperwork through a Power of Attorney so you might be the first to do so and I’m not the right person to advise on this.
Additionally, information tends to be shared verbally rather than being listed on websites. An example of this is obtaining the steps required for a technical integration. Combined with the common wisdom to “be where your customer is”, I think it’s a good idea to move to Ethiopia if you’re looking to create a startup here. Please note that you’ll need to apply for a Yellow Card if you plan on moving here.
You’ll also need to be on Ethiopian servers so look into local options or run your own server. Knowing this will save you time building an AWS infrastructure (as we did).
Pro-tip: you might be able to hire a General Manager if necessary.
Steps to Launching a Startup
At the minimum, you’ll need a working product and INSA (Information Network Security Administration) approval to operate a tech company here. Our company, whose first product is a bus ticketing app, has an additional requirement of integrating an API from the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.
The INSA approval process took us 7 months. My tips on getting approved are:
- Be thorough in the answers to the cybersecurity responses you provide
- Do the required work without just using AI to generate responses
- Use this as an opportunity to learn cybersecurity
Your product should already be protected from cybersecurity issues before applying to INSA. I referenced the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and made sure we were protected from those.
Uncommon Know-How
Here are tips I have to people looking to start a business here:
- Use Safaricom Hotspot WiFi but only on a limited-data plan. It took me a while to realize that I was getting throttled for being on an unlimited data plan.
- Use the Feres app to get around. It’s cheaper than Ride and alternatives (although I’m not sure about Yango).
- Bring a power bank as power outages are common (and productivity-reducing)
- Learn Amharic for making your day-to-day easier
Startup Know-How
I’m the founder of https://voyage.et. We’re very quality-focused and if you like our products, please hear me out on some startup advice.
- Save time by duplicating React Native and React code. I mention why in a different blog post. We’re now trying to extract utility code (like form validation) into shared packages, which we’ve done before with API clients.
- Learn some basic design and please do not copy/paste Figma Dev Mode styling. I recommend the book Refactoring UI. In my defense, Tailwind websites didn’t look polished to me so I copy/pasted styles (as some other tech companies do). I’d recommend using units of 4 for all spacing and being ample with spacing to create a polished-looking site.
- Be generous in your alloted AI usage for your team. AI has a multiplier effect on productivity for devs.
- My own unique opinion: aim to decrease lines of code to reduce the probability of bugs. By this, I mean compare the number of features you plan on adding with your team headcount. Remove features to decrease the amount of code to reason about and maintain and have quicker dev sprints.
- Use Expo instead of React Native. You’ll get access to
eas update, which allows for updating JS (but not native)code without waiting for approvals from Apple.
- It gets easier. After your first product, you’ll be able to extract shared components, and since you’re using Tailwind, building new frontends will be a breeze. I’ve also heard advice to create shared libraries from backend code.
- Protect yourself against burnout instead of getting to the goal through a 24/7 work strategy. I talk about what I do to prevent against burnout here.
- Take a look into Cal Newport’s Deep Work philosophy. Summarized, we can only work in blocks of time before our attention and overall cognitive performance starts to decline. As these are physical limits, I find that this also helps me prevent against burnout. 60-90 work intervals are recommended; Cal Newport gives an example of academics doing 90 minute work, 90 minute break intervals. 90 minute break intervals might bring questions into professionality, however.