MEST Africa Challenge announces the top 5 finalists going into the  final stage of the competition

MEST Africa has announced Sproutly (Nigeria), Kweli (Senegal), Swoove (Ghana), Hisa (Kenya) and Desert Green Africa (South Africa) as the startups who will be into the grand finale of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge pitch competition. 

The pan-African pitch competition opened applications in July this year for pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa to bid for the ultimate prize of $50,000.

After going through the online application, regional pitches, and founder interview phases of the competition, these 5 finalists have been selected for the final pitch. Each startup will represent their country at the Demo Day and Final Pitch Competition that will be held in Accra Ghana in December 2022. 

Speaking on the selection of the top 5 startups, the Director of Portfolio at MEST Africa, Melissa Nsiah said:

“It hasn’t been an easy process. Mostly because, this year, we saw so many valid business models and met some incredible founders with huge visions that align very closely with ours. But in the final analysis we were able to zero in on the cream of the crop to select the top 5 companies from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa in alignment with this year’s selection criteria. Our team is eager to work closely with each of the 5 finalists in preparation towards the final competition day in December.” 

Here are details of the startups who have made it in the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge:

Sproutly Inc (Nigeria)

Digital Banking, Tuition Financing for Teens & Students and Payments, Education Management and Credits for Schools. Learn more https://sproutlyhq.com/ 

Kwely Inc (Senegal)

An innovative made-in-Africa B2B brand incubation and digital distribution platform. 

Swoove Inc (Ghana)

Swoove is a last mile delivery and fulfillment tech startup beuilding ecommmerce infrastructure for SME’s and commerce companies on the continent. Learn more https://www.swoove.delivery 

Hisa Inc (Kenya)

Building the tech infrastructure for investing in Africa. Learn more: https://hisa.co/ 

Desert Green Africa Agri-Investments (South Africa)

Desert Green is an Agritech transforming the Informal Agri-value chain in Africa by providing a more efficient delivery of Fresh produce from small scale farmers to informal traders. Learn more www.desertgreen.co.za

MEST will provide the winning startup with investment capital to the amount of $50,000, coaching and access to a global network of resources and partners as they build and scale successful businesses that add value to African economies and livelihoods.

All participating startups will have the opportunity to benefit from a host of exciting perks from MEST Africa and its strategic partners including global visibility, building their networks, professional coaching, mentorship from experts, and the opportunity to join the global MEST community for lifetime benefits.

About the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge 

In its fourth year, MAC 2022 is a call for technology startups in 5 African markets – Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa to vie for the ultimate prize of USD 50,000 in equity investment. Finalists will gain exclusive access to the MEST Community including expert business coaches and mentors, global investors, and a wide selection of perk prizes and packages contributed by MEST partners across the continent. Finalists from each country will attend the MEST Africa Demo Day in Accra, Ghana on December 1st, 2022, where they will once again compete on a global stage for up to $50,000 in equity investment and the opportunity to join the MEST Portfolio and global community.

The competition has received thousands of applications from around the continent since its inception. It has spotlighted and impacted the growth of winning startups such as Tanzania’s Kilimo Fresh, Ghana’s OZE, South Africa’s Snode Technologies, Kenya’s Waya Waya, and Nigeria’s Accounteer.

About MEST Africa:

MEST is a pan-African software and entrepreneurship training program, seed fund, and incubator helping to launch technology startups across the continent. Founded in Ghana in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen, MEST is a 12-month program that provides critical skills training in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s burgeoning tech talent. MEST provides seed funding for the best ideas coming out of the program and continues to support the growth and development of its portfolio companies. 

To date, MEST has trained 1000s of entrepreneurs from across the continent and invested in over 80 startups across industries from Agritech, Fintech, SaaS, eCommerce, Digital Media, and Healthcare amongst others. MEST is fully funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Norwegian company Meltwater; a global leader in social and media intelligence headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more at www.meltwater.org 

Media Contact: [email protected] 

 

MEST Africa Challenge 2022: Here are the shortlisted startups going into the regional competition stage

MEST Africa has announced a shortlist of 36 qualified technology startups from 5 African countries who will be going into the regional pitch competition stage of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge.

The Next Stage of the Competition

MEST has shared some key updates on the MEST Africa Challenge and  the upcoming regional competitions. 

The regional competition stage will see the shortlisted startups placed into 4 main pitching groups that will participate in virtual pitch competitions scheduled to take place between 10th and 13th October 2022. Each pitch competition will be adjudicated by a panel of expert judges from around the continent. 

From the regional pitch stage, 10 finalists will be selected for the next stage, which will consist of  individual interviews with the company  founders. Following the interview stage, 5 startups will be selected, one from each market, to come to Ghana for the Final Pitch Competition and Demo Day.

Speaking on the selection process and changes to the regional competitions, the Director of Portfolio at MEST Africa Melissa Nsiah said:

MAC has been an absolute thrill and we aren’t even at the finals yet! From planning, to launching the actual competition, combing through 100’s of applications, the entire journey to select our top 37 startups to move forward to regional finals has been an exciting learning curve. Moving forward from last year’s fully virtual competition, I am impressed by the planning team’s creative approach in merging both virtual and in person pitch styles to widen our audience and deliver the best overall experience for our partners and contestants alike.

Meet the MAC Regional Finalists:

STARTUP SECTOR COUNTRY
Digistore Fintech Ghana
Wala Digital Health Health Tech Ghana
Swoove Inc Logistics Tech Ghana
AppCycling Ghana LTD E-Waste Management & Recycling Ghana
Utopia Technologies Technology Ghana
GAPhealth Technologies Ltd. Health tech Ghana
Synatech Africa Software as a Service Kenya
Nutritech Solutions Health care Kenya
Afriagrimark Enterprise Limited AgriTech Kenya
MOBI-REMIT SOLUTIONS LIMITED Financial Technology Kenya
EASYHOUSE AFRICA Proptech/Fintech/Edtech Kenya
mSwali Mobile gaming Kenya
Hisa Inc Fintech Kenya
ZEDA BROTHERS LTD (Parent Company)/ Helene ERP/Accounting Nigeria
Mytherapist.ng Mental Health Services Mental Health / Wellness Nigeria
Angel’s Radar Financial Services Nigeria
Fostaco Agriculture Nigeria
Bridge Merchant Enterprise Agritech Nigeria
AWI Agricultural Venture Agri-Tech Nigeria
Sanwo Technologies Limited TrustTech Nigeria
ROYALTI DIGITAL MUSIC SOLUTIONS LIMITED Media & Entertainment Nigeria
Niteon LLC Marketplace, Procurement, Logistics, web 3.0 Nigeria
MyFoodAngels AgricTech/FoodTEch Nigeria
Goods and Services 360 Ltd Clean Cooking Nigeria
Sproutly Inc. Fintech/ Edtech Nigeria
KaCyber Technologies ICT (Transport Tech) Senegal
Kweli SAS / Kweli Inc B2B Marketplace Senegal
INSURIS INSURTECH Sénégal
Sodishop E-commerce/ elogistique Senegal
PROXALYS Retail/Ecommerce Senegal
SENDRA (Sénégalaise de Déconstruction et de Recyclage Automobile) CleanTech Senegal
Dots for Inc. Telecommunication and information technology in African rural areas Senegal
Zimi Charge (Pty) Ltd E-Mobility South Africa
Dove Air Inc Healthcare South Africa
Thumel Technologies Logistic South Africa
Desert Green Africa Agri Investments Agritech South Africa

Key benefits of the program:

  • Funding of up to $50,000 for the winning startup
  • Perk prizes from MEST’s Strategic Partners
  • Global visibility
  • Opportunity to build your networks
  • Professional coaching
  • Mentorship from experts
  • Opportunity to join the global MEST Community for lifetime benefits

Learn more and follow the journeys of the selected startups here. 

About the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge 

In its fourth year, MAC 2022 is a call for technology startups in 5 African markets – Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa to vie for the ultimate prize of USD 50,000 in equity investment. Finalists will gain exclusive access to the MEST Community including expert business coaches and mentors, global investors and a wide selection of perk prizes and packages contributed by MEST partners across the continent. Finalists from each country will attend the MEST Africa Demo Day in Accra, Ghana on December 1st 2022, where they will once again compete on a global stage for up to $50,000 in equity investment and the opportunity to join the MEST Portfolio and global community.

The competition has received thousands of applications from around the continent since its inception. It has spotlighted and impacted the growth of winning startups such as Tanzania’s Kilimo Fresh, Ghana’s OZE, South Africa’s Snode Technologies, Kenya’s Waya Waya, and Nigeria’s Accounteer.

About MEST Africa:

MEST is a pan-African software and entrepreneurship training program, seed fund, and incubator helping to launch technology startups across the continent. Founded in Ghana in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen, MEST is a 12-month program that provides critical skills training in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s burgeoning tech talent. MEST provides seed funding for the best ideas coming out of the program and continues to support the growth and development of its portfolio companies. 

To date, MEST has trained 1000s of entrepreneurs from across the continent and invested in over 80 startups across industries from Agritech, Fintech, SaaS, eCommerce, Digital Media, and Healthcare amongst others. MEST is fully funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Norwegian company Meltwater; a global leader in social and media intelligence headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more at www.meltwater.org 

Media Contact: [email protected]

The MEST Africa Challenge is on for 2022

ACCRA, Ghana, 29th July 2022 – MEST Africa has officially announced the opening of applications for the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge.

Pre-seed to seed stage technology startups in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa are invited to apply to participate in the regional competitions to be held in these countries in October this year. Two finalists will be selected from each country to participate in the final Demo Day Pitch event to be held in Accra, Ghana for the ultimate prize of $50,000 in equity.  

Entries will be accepted till 30th August 2022 through the competition’s online application portal.

Speaking on the 2022 edition of the competition, MEST Africa’s Director of Portfolio, Melissa Nsiah said, “We are excited to bring back this competition to give more African Startups a platform to showcase and build on their unique value in an era where African startups and innovations are taking center stage and gaining global recognition and investments. We look forward to an invigorating season that will increase the drive towards building better businesses in Africa.” 

Run by pan-African training program, seed fund, incubator and hub, MEST Africa, the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) is Africa’s go-to pitch competition for technology startups looking to get to the next level of their growth journey. The challenge provides a stage for technology start-ups to raise funding, build industry networks and gain international visibility that would serve them well in growing and expanding their businesses. 

The competition has received thousands of applications from around the continent since its inception. It has spotlighted and impacted the growth of winning startups such as Tanzania’s Kilimo Fresh, Ghana’s OZE, South Africa’s Snode Technologies, Kenya’s Waya Waya, and Nigeria’s Accounteer.

Eligibility Criteria for MAC 2022:

  • Pre-seed or seed-stage (have raised $100k total or less cumulatively since inception)
  • Currently generating revenue 
  • Can demonstrate traction in one or more of the five MAC Markets (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal)
  • Has been in operation for 2 years or less
  • Tech-enabled (software company)
  • Industry agnostic
  • Any business model (B2B, B2C, B2B2C, B2G etc…)

Key benefits of the program:

  • Funding of up to $50,000
  • Perk prizes from MEST Strategic Partners
  • Global visibility
  • Build your networks
  • Professional coaching
  • Mentorship from experts
  • Join the global MEST Community for lifetime benefits

Learn more and apply here before the 30th August 2022.

MEST APPOINTS MELISSA NSIAH AS DIRECTOR OF PORTFOLIO

ACCRA, Ghana, 22 June 2022 – MEST, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, has announced the appointment of Melissa Nsiah as its new Director of Portfolio.

Previously Program Manager for Stanford Seed West and South Africa, Melissa will be working closely with MEST Africa’s Founder, Jorn Lyseggen, to provide leadership and direction to the MEST portfolio companies, with a key focus on helping the companies with strategies around growth and scale. 

With an extensive background in operations, project management, user experience, and program design, Melissa brings real-world experience in leading businesses, building innovative and effective teams, developing systems, and business coaching. 

Commenting on the appointment, Founder Jorn Lyseggen stated, “Melissa is a unique combination of entrepreneur, executive, and business coach with an in-depth experience from doing business on the African continent as well as the US market. She is mission-driven and cares deeply about the growing tech ecosystem on the African continent. We are honoured to welcome Melissa to the MEST team.” 

Melissa is also a champion of sustainability and STEAM and spends the majority of her time outside of work fundraising for youth STEAM education and advocating for anti-pollution and green initiatives. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Management Science and Engineering with a special focus on the intersection between technology and society.

MEST Training Program Updates - Deadline Extension & New Dates

The deadline for applying for our 12-month Training Program in technology and entrepreneurship has now been extended by various dates to give applicants from different parts of the continent an opportunity to participate in the 2023 program.

The deadline extension differs from country to country;

  • Applications from Ghana, Nigeria, and the rest of the continent have been extended to 25th April 2022
  • Applications from Senegal have been extended to 4th May 2022
  • Applications from Kenya have been extended to 9th May 2022
  • Applications from South Africa have been extended to 1st June 2022

Applications for the Class of 2023 were opened in February this year to every young aspiring tech entrepreneur on the continent and were initially set to run till the 20th of April 2022.

“We are excited about the overwhelming interest shown by potential applicants across the continent throughout this recruitment phase. We hope the deadline extension will allow all interested applicants, especially those from new markets such as Senegal, adequate time to prepare and apply to be part of the next cohort of aspiring technology entrepreneurs starting in August this year,” said Emily Fiagbedzi, Director of Training Program at MEST Africa.

The Application Process:

  • Complete Pre-learning courses
  • Take an aptitude test
  • Fill and submit the MEST Training Program application form
  • Interviews
  • Offer

Successful applicants of the one-year fully-sponsored program will gain access to world-class education in software development, business and communication skills from MEST’s campus in Accra, Ghana. At the end of the year-long program, all the Entrepreneurs-in-training form teams, and startups and pitch their business idea for up to $100,000 in seed funding, business incubation, and a lifetime of support from MEST Africa’s global community of experts and founders.

Over 800 tech entrepreneurs and experts have been trained through this program since 2008 and we have invested in over 80 tech startups. We have also produced some of the finest startups transforming sectors and scaling across the continent such as meQasa, Complete Farmer, Kudobuzz and CodeLn among others.

Apply here.

Our 2021 in Perspective

After thriving through the uncertain times of 2020, 2021 set us on a path to achieve greater heights. The year marked a time of realignment and deepening of our commitment to the African technology and startup ecosystem. We acknowledge and appreciate all our partners who continued on this journey with us and are grateful for the remarkable work that our various units and teams at MEST did to achieve the many milestones of this year.

Notable among them was the reopening and extension of applications for the 2022 Training Program. Regardless of the delays and the extension of the application process which saw over a thousand people apply from Ghana and Nigeria, we are excited to welcome 53 outstanding individuals into the 2022 MEST Africa Training Program.

Other flagship programs like the MEST Africa Challenge and MEST Africa Summit were also put on hold this year due to the pandemic. But this made way for us to engage and support even more entrepreneurs across the continent while continuing to support the growth of our portfolio companies.

Our portfolio companies have shown a lot of resilience and keep innovating throughout these uncertain times. We are very proud of all they have achieved this year and send a special shoutout to the following companies who achieved some major successes this year:

Complete Farmer, Leti Arts, Kweza, Tendo, Judy, BezoMoney, Shopa and Wiflix

The growth of our portfolio companies has also been supported by our amazing partners.

Other significant highlights for this year include:

  • We continued to work and impact the ecosystem alongside partners such as Mastercard Foundation, UNICEF, GIZ, IFC, The European Union, Care International, Africa Development Bank, SANAD and Danida.
  • We launched MEST Scale, a venture accelerator focused on enabling SMEs in Ghana to scale.
  • In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and leading innovation hubs in Ghana, we’ve expanded our program reach to Wa, Tamale, Takoradi, Kumasi, Bolgatanga, Cape Coast and Ho
  • We had the opportunity to work alongside some ecosystem players on the Digilogic Africa, Smart Cities Innovation Programme, AFDB Business Development Services, and WeGrow Hackathon projects.
  • We partnered with the French Chamber of Commerce Ghana to bring together innovative startups and leading corporate organizations to foster more corporate-startup partnerships.
  • Our impact in the ecosystem led to a feature on CNN as one of the organizations contributing to Ghana’s rising tech scene.
  • As a result of all the work, we have also welcomed a cohort of new entrepreneurs into our community for a lifetime of growth, support, and access.

As was earlier announced, I will be transitioning from the Managing Director position to become a Portfolio Advisor at MEST while I pursue a new fintech company. My 6+ years at MEST have been truly rewarding and have also influenced these next steps in my growth journey. I look forward to continuing to support our founder Jorn Lyseggen, the rest of the leadership team, and our entrepreneurs.

For the team at MEST who bring it all to life, one thing has stayed true; the passion to strive for and achieve the highest possible standards together. I appreciate you all.

Enjoy this holiday special from the MEST family. Happy holidays!

– Ashwin Ravichandran(Outgoing Managing Director, MEST Africa)

Founder Jorn Lyseggen becomes new MD of MEST as Ashwin Ravichandran pursues fintech startup

Dear Community,

MEST’s founder, Jorn Lyseggen, will be taking over as Managing Director of MEST as current MD, Ashwin Ravichandran, goes on to pursue a fintech startup.

Ashwin will continue to be a part of the MEST family, in a new capacity as Portfolio Advisor on a part-time basis while supporting our founder transition to the Managing Director role.

Ashwin joined MEST in 2015 as a Technology Teaching Fellow and has since served in various capacities such as Incubator Manager, Director of Portfolio Support, Country Director of Ghana. He became the Managing Director in 2019 where he oversaw MEST’s flagship Training Program, the growth and the successful development of MEST portfolio companies while establishing MEST’s influence in the ecosystem through partnerships, ecosystem engagements, and thought leadership.

Thank you to Ashwin for everything you have led us to achieve! We are excited about what the future holds for our ongoing relationship in a part-time capacity. We wish you and your startup the best of luck!

 

Ashwin over the years at MEST Africa:

Five MEST portfolio and alumni companies receive investment from Google’s Black Founders Fund

ACCRA, Ghana —  Five MEST Africa portfolio and alumni companies — Tendo, Shopa, GrowForMe, Curacel and Chekkit — have been named among 50 startups who will be receiving investment and support from Google’s Black Founders Fund.

The companies will be receiving up to $100,000 in funds, mentorship from Google experts, and Google platform credits as part of the investment.

The five selected MEST-affiliated companies are some of the most promising technology startups whose solutions are transforming retail, e-commerce, agriculture, insurance and e-health across the continent.

Tendo, one of MEST’s portfolio companies, enables social media users to sell online without investing any capital. The app allows resellers to browse through catalogues of products and gets as much information as possible. Resellers can then add their profit margins to the product and share on social media.

Shopa, another MEST portfolio company is a B2B e-commerce business that is digitising the informal retail supply chain in Ghana and beyond by connecting informal retailers to products and suppliers faster and ensuring better profits.

Chekkit is a blockchain technology company saving lives by protecting producers and shoppers from the harmful effects of counterfeit products. It was founded in 2018 by MEST alumnus Dare Odumade to offer consumer intelligence, anti-counterfeiting and provide manufacturers with a way to engage their consumers directly.

Curacel was founded by MEST alumnus Henry Mascot. It is an AI-powered platform that enables insurers to automate claims seamlessly and also track fraud, waste and abuse.

Grow For Me is a web based Agricultural crowdfunding platform that funds farmers to scale and grow more crops, using the income received from interested sponsors. The unique model is creating wealth and contributing to food stability particularly in the rural communities where mass urban migration is having a detrimental impact on the agricultural food chain. Grow for me was founded by MEST Africa alumnus Nana Opoku W. O. Agyeman-Prempeh.

The Black Founders Fund is a program by Google Startups which is supporting early-stage Black-founded startups on the African continent. It seeks to bridge the existing fundraising gap for Black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape. The program will allocate a non-dilutive $3 million fund across 50 investable startups in Africa. The startups also receive Google Ad Grants and Cloud credits, as well as support from experienced experts at Google.

MEST is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneurship training program, internal seed fund, and network of hubs offering incubation for technology startups in Africa. Our internal seed fund provides $50k to $250k in funding to help launch and scale early-stage companies. Since 2008, MEST has funded and provided incubation for over 80 technology startups that are focused on creating wealth and jobs on the continent.

MEST Africa extends the application period of the class of 2022

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, (MEST Africa), on Thursday, announced that the application period for the MEST Training Program, class of 2022, has been extended to September, 17.

A statement made available to the Ghana News Agency said the changes to its renowned technology entrepreneurship program were to enable applicants, especially university graduates, an opportunity to participate in the 2022 program.

“Due to the increasing uncertainty around Covid and unconfirmed graduation dates for most Universities across West Africa this year, we have confirmed to start the new cohort for the MEST Training Program in January 2022”, the statement noted.

It stated that despite the challenges that COVID-19 continued to present to all training institutions, the organization was poised to continue identifying and training some of the finest minds in technology on the African continent in the safest possible way.

The statement quoted Mr Ashwin Ravichandran, the Managing Director of MEST Africa as saying, “By extending the application phase of our training program, final year university graduates, who make up the majority of our applicants, will have enough time to apply to the class of 2022.

This also gives us at MEST adequate time to speak to more talents who are eager to use technology to solve Africa’s pertinent problems”.

MEST is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program, internal seed fund, and network of hubs offering incubation for technology startups in Africa. Since its inception in 2008, MEST has produced some of the continents leading technology startups like Ghanaian real estate platform MeQasa, Kudobuzz, LetiArts, and many others.

The prospective students could learn more about the application process for the MEST Training program via https://mest.submittable.com/submit.