French Embassy Announces First Winners of the “Habesha Creative Lab”













The French Embassy has revealed the 14 inaugural winners of the Habesha Creative Lab, a program launched under the Ethio-French Touch initiative to support Ethiopia’s cultural and digital creative industries.

The Habesha Creative Lab, set to officially open on May 24, 2025, at the Alliance Ethio-Française, provides support to entrepreneurs working in:

Animation

Video games

Virtual reality (VR)

Augmented reality (AR)

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Digital design

Support Offered to Participants

Tailored mentorship and business coaching

Technical training

Access to co-working space

Project funding (up to €10,000)

Selected Projects

For Incubation:

One More Round – Animation

Hiyaw Initiative – Animation

Lomi – Video game

Digital Hands – AR

VR-SPPT – VR

NARO – AR

For Acceleration:

Behagerlij Kids – Animation

Lijinet – Animation

Keffa the Curious Goat – Animation

Dade Kits – Video game

Enechawet Ethiopia – Video game

Tsehafe-Gojjo – VR

Pro Kelem – VR

Lucy AI – AI

What’s Next?

A new phase of the program focusing on women entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative industries will launch in August 2025.

Partners: Alliance Ethio-Française, SPOC, Iceaddis, Diversion, 3DNetInfo, Rubika