Ghana based startup OZÉ named one of three winners of $50k at the MEST Africa Summit 2019

This article is part one of a three-part series focusing on the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge winners.

Back in February, ten top Ghanian startups were chosen to compete to pitch their business ideas as part of the MEST Africa Challenge 2019. Judges selected OZÉ,  a platform that equips small business owners with the information to make data-driven decisions to help them grow, as the finalist to represent Ghana.

On June 10, 2019, the final pitch was held at the MEST Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. Meghan Mccormick, Co-Founder and CEO of OZÉ, competed against the other finalists from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, and for the first time ever, three startups were named winners. OZÉ, WayaWaya Ltd (Kenya) and Snode Technologies (South Africa) all received $50,000 in equity investment from MEST Africa and $25,000 of credit from key sponsor Microsoft.

Keep reading to hear more from the OZÉ team about their win and where they hope to go from here.

MEST: Why did you start OZÉ?

OZÉ: We started OZÉ to help small businesses grow. On the continent, there’s a youth unemployment crisis with 11 million youth entering the job market every single year and 60% of them not finding jobs. The only way for them to actually solve unemployment at a large scale is to equip the pre-existing small businesses on the continent to create jobs for the youth.

MEST: What inspired you to compete in the MEST Africa Challenge/Summit?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: We wanted to compete in MAS because of especially being a company founded by Americans, being able to embed in the African entrepreneurial ecosystem was really important. We had a relationship with MEST previously by doing some trainings but wanted to immediately become part of the mest family. 

MEST: What tips do you have for future contestants?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: I think the tips I would have for future contestants would be to wait until you’re ready to take advantage of the opportunity. We chose not to apply to MAC last year because we thought we were a little bit too early and we think we were able to be competitive this year because we have actual paying customers now and growth, if we were to have made it last year we would not have that. And then not this opportunity. So being strategic about when you apply for these types of opportunities is really important.

Nailing your story, part of how OZÉ was able to come home a winner in such a competitive field with people with much more mature businesses was because we were able to communicate why what we’re working on matters and why we think it can change the structure of the African economy and paint that picture. A good story goes a long way especially when you don’t have millions of dollars of revenue. 

MEST: How do you intend to use this opportunity to expand?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: We are looking to Nigeria as our next market, so knowing that when opening in that market not only do we have relationships with the other company from Nigeria but also a home base – somewhere that we can camp out and meet people and get introductions to other small business owners and startups movers and shakers in the Nigerian ecosystem is the most immediate benefit, that launch pad into Nigeria. 

MEST: Why are you excited to join the MEST Portfolio?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: We’re excited to join the MEST portfolio because of the long history of MAS in Ghana, not that many early stage investors in Ghana so being able to have one that launched and grew in the same market with the same pattern that we hope to follow (from Ghana and out from there), MEST will be a very beneficial partner for us.

MEST: Why is pan-African expansion the key to Oze’s success?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: The 28 million consumers in Ghana are really exciting for a first market, but they’re not a large enough opportunity to attract the type of investment that we need to bring the world class together to build such a transformational product. The youth unemployment is not just a Ghana problem, but a sub-Saharan African market. Attract the type of acapital that we need to be successful in Ghana and eventually beyond Ghana.

MEST: What is next for OZÉ​​​​​​​?

OZÉ​​​​​​​: We just got our 10,000th registered business, which is really exciting. Right now we’re heads down focusing about moving our financial institution partners from being partners on paper to getting capital into the hands of OZÉ users. 

We look forward to welcoming OZÉ to our portfolio and seeing what they go on to do!

MEST Africa Summit 2019 names South Africa’s Snode Technologies one of three startups to win $50k

This article is part one of a three-part series focusing on the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge winners.

This year, the annual MEST Africa Challenge competition selected ten top South African startups to pitch their businesses to a board of local judges for the opportunity to compete in the finals at the MEST Africa Summit 2019. Snode Technologies, a cybersecurity and intelligence business that leverages mathematics to analyze data in real-time at scale, was selected as the country’s winner and joined us in Nairobi earlier this month.

Nithen Naidoo, Co-Founder and CEO of Snode, competed against the other finalists from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire, and for the first time ever, three of the companies were dubbed winners. Snode, OZÉ (Ghana), and WayaWaya Ltd all received $50,000 in equity investment from MEST Africa and $25,000 of credit from leading sponsor Microsoft.

Keep reading to hear more from the Snode team about their experience as a MEST Africa Challenge competitor, and their plans for the future.

MEST: Why did you start Snode Technologies?

Snode: After years of running a cybersecurity consulting firm, providing assessments to large global enterprises, we realised that the way we defended against cyber-attacks was reactive and ultimately flawed. A more intelligent line of defence was urgently required since traditional detection and defence technologies proved inadequate to dealing with rapidly evolving cyber-attack patterns. Snode leverages advanced mathematical algorithms and the power of learning machines to process large amounts of data. This data then provides insights into prevailing patterns to help identify and combat cyber security threats before a potential breach occurs. 

MEST: What inspired you to compete in the MEST Africa Challenge/Summit?

Snode: After our initial success in South Africa, we wanted to expand our business to the rest of Africa. We saw MEST as a potential channel to, not only introduce our brand, but to establish a channel partnership to further explore opportunities across Africa and the globe.

MEST: What you tips to you have for future contestants?

Snode: Act locally, but think globally; build a world-class business fused with African ingenuity.

MEST: How do you intend to use this opportunity to expand?

Snode: We plan to establish channels in growing African markets, such as Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, providing world-class cybersecurity technology and services.

MEST: Why is pan-African expansion the key to your company’s success?

Snode: We view our company and unique cybersecurity technology offering as an African innovation with global potential. We see establishing our presence across Africa as a key milestone on our roadmap to global expansion.

MEST:  What is next for Snode Technologies?

Snode: We are looking forward to entering new African markets and working with the many talented cybersecurity teams across the continent.

MEST Africa looks forward to welcoming Snode Technologies to our portfolio and helping them to expand across the continent and globe!

MEST Africa names Ashwin Ravichandran as new Managing Director

MEST Africa is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashwin Ravichandran as its new Managing Director, as the Pan-African entrepreneurial training program, seed fund and incubator continues to grow and strengthen its portfolio of startups and expand its reach and impact across the continent. 

Ashwin joined MEST in 2015 as a Technology Teaching Fellow and has since served as the Incubator Manager for MEST Accra, and currently is Director of Portfolio Support and Country Director of Ghana. With a background in Computer Science and Engineering and previous experience working in the innovation team at Honeywell and building startups in India, Ashwin brings extensive technical knowledge to his executive management experience at MEST.

In his role as Director of Portfolio Support, Ashwin has overseen the growth and development of highly successful MEST portfolio companies such as Complete Farmer, Asoriba, Leti Arts and Kudobuzz, working to maximize their growth and success in terms of business development, product management and raising further rounds of funding.

“We’re thrilled to name Ashwin as Managing Director,” said MEST Founder & Chairman, Jorn Lyseggen. “Over the years, he has been an incredible asset to our management team and an invaluable mentor to founders and Entrepreneurs-in-Training (EITs). Ashwin has a passionate, product-centric approach to entrepreneurship and, combined with a deep belief and dedication to the African continent, he is the right person to take MEST to the next level.”

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to be stepping into this new role,” Ashwin said. Since I joined MEST in 2015, I’ve always been inspired by the potential of the African entrepreneurship space. Being part of the innovation that has come out of MEST over the years, I’ve seen first-hand how technology is changing the future of the continent. I’m excited to lead our talented team as we continue to expand and take on new challenges.”

Ashwin takes the reins from MEST Managing Director Aaron Fu, whose last day at MEST was June 30th. “Aaron has in his two years with MEST been a valued member of the MEST leadership team. We thank him for all his contributions and wish him all the best in his next endeavour,” said Lyseggen.