- The pan-African pitch competition opened applications in July, for pre-seed and seed-stage technology start-ups to bid for the ultimate prize of $50 000 (Sh6.07 million).
- The startups had undergone regional pitches and founder interviews and have been selected for the final pitch.
MEST has revealed the top five startups that have made it to the finals of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge pitch competition.
This contest is a pan-African startup competition for startups who are ready to scale and expand into new markets.
The top five startups that were selected are Desert Green Africa (South Africa), Hisa (Kenya), Kweli (Senegal), Sproutly (Nigeria), and Swoove (Ghana).
The pan-African pitch competition opened applications in July, for pre-seed and seed-stage technology start-ups to bid for the ultimate prize of $50 000 (Sh6.07 million).
The startups had undergone regional pitches and founder interviews and have been selected for the final pitch.
The top five will represent their countries at a demo day and final pitch competition in December this year.
Founded in Ghana in 2008 by Jorn Lyseggen, MEST is a 12-month programme that provides critical skills training in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech talent.
It provides seed funding for the best ideas coming out of the program and continues to support the growth and development of its portfolio companies.
MEST Africa director of portfolio Melissa Nsiah said that this year they met so many valid business models and some incredible founders with huge visions that align very closely with the program.
“In the final analysis we were able to zero in on the cream of the crop to select the top five companies from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa in alignment with this year’s selection criteria,” Nsiah said.
“Our team is eager to work closely with each of the five finalists in preparation for the final competition day in December.”
Desert Green Africa Agri-Investments is an Agritech transforming the informal Agri-value chain in Africa by providing more efficient delivery of fresh produce from small-scale farmers to informal traders.
Hisa, Kenya, is building the tech infrastructure for investing in Africa.
Kweli is an innovative made-in-Africa B2B brand incubation and digital distribution platform.
Sproutly, Nigerian, is a digital banking, and tuition financing solution for teens, students, payments, education management, and credits for schools.
Swoove is a last-mile delivery and fulfilment tech start-up building e-commerce infrastructure for SMEs and commerce companies in Africa.
MEST will provide the winning startup with investment capital 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
This will include global visibility, building their networks, professional coaching, mentorship from experts, and the opportunity to join the global MEST community for lifetime benefits.