THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has penned its signature to minutes of a meeting setting out an information technology start-up ecosystem enhancement project.

An online entry says that a start-up ecosystem is a network of resources like people, investors, public institutions and companies working together to create an environment for newcomers in the information technology industry to thrive.

“A start-up ecosystem can be a physical place or an online space," it says, with the MoU envisaging start-up ecosystem enhancement in the Eastern Africa region.

A JICA statement said yesterday that the government made a request for initiating the project mid last year and it is set to take three years starting early next year.

The agreement outlines the project’s framework and implementation structure, listing key stakeholders as the ICT Commission and ministries of Information and Information Technology, Industry and Trade, Education, Science and Technology, Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, along with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).

A JICA expressed satisfaction in the consultation in designing the project for a start-up ecosystem for their fruitful and constructive inputs, while Dr Nkundwe Mwasaga, the ICT Commission director general said that the commission looks forward to a smooth commencement and productive implementation of the project.

Mukai Naoto, a senior official with the Private Sector Development Group at JICA head offices remarked that JICA is committed to address challenges in the start-up ecosystem, ensuring that the project’s outcomes are beneficial to the breadth of the population.

The project is intended to enhance the start-up ecosystem by supporting the development of a master plan and action plans to foster innovative start-ups and conditions for their being viable, he said.

It involves pilot initiatives to build capacity among start-up ecosystem actors, conduct reviews and analyses of related policies or legislation. This will enable project initiators to provide recommendations for what should be improved, he added.