Indigo Trust, a UK based grant making foundation, announced today that they, the US government and Hivos, have granted at least $280,000 to Hypercube, an organisation we wrote about here last month. The money is for the organisation to establish a technology hub in Harare. The hub, according to the announcement, will support tech entrepreneurs working on both commercial and social projects.
Indigo Trust is contributing £30,000, Hivos €40,000 annually for 3 years, and the US government – through a State Department Fund for Innovation in Public Diplomacy administered by the US Embassy in Harare – is contributing $75,000. The total amount, converted using the current rate, comes up to about US $280,000. The post says the grant was awarded to Hypercube following an assessment of 6 proposals by organisations (and individuals maybe) looking to implement a hub locally.
The Indigo post also says this is the thirteenth hub they have supported in Africa. According to the Indigo website they fund technology-driven projects to bring about social change, largely in African countries with focus mainly on innovation, transparency and citizen empowerment.
Disclosure: I was partly involved in the very early stages of consultations to establish this hub and posted about the experience on my personal blog here.
Comments
6 responses
Aha, someone is acting, and good thing? Without that Dumbhead Chamisa as Minister!!!! Lol
Thats nyc, may the funds be put into good use, I beg
Well done Hypercube. NUSt Techno Park has been making all sorts of promises over the last 10 years. Its nice to have a hub that is transparent and generates confidance by discussing the level of funding availed. Wishing you guys the best and will try to support your venture as best as I can (even if its just spreading the word). Also nice one Tech Zim for keeping us informed. This ic best news for 2013!
Great news. I just hope that they will focus on “for-profit” startups!
Excellent point. I hope this is what Hypercube intends to do.
[…] the United States State Department (through the US Embassy Harare), Indigo Trust and Hivos. $280,000 was secured for the hub through grant funding and it was officially opened in November […]