Applications are now being accepted for the 12-month tech entrepreneurship program at MEST (Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology).
Serial entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen established MEST in 2008 in Ghana. It serves as an incubator, seed fund, and program for software and entrepreneurship. Its goal is to assist in the launch of technology startups all over Africa.
Located in Accra, the 12-month, fully-funded program teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to build software, develop go-to-market strategies, sales tactics, user interface and user experience design, communication, and more.
Read also: MEST Africa extends deadline for startup competition
Its purpose is to prepare participants to go out there and start businesses that use software to address both local and global issues and to pitch those ideas to investors. At the end of the program, participants will have the opportunity to receive seed money and business incubation for their startup after completing a rigorous curriculum and receiving mentoring from prominent figures in the industry and around the world.
More than 90 startups across the continent have received funding from MEST, and the organisation has trained over 1,000 entrepreneurs.
“The mission at MEST is to empower the next generation of African tech innovators,” stated Emily Fiagbedzi, director of the MEST Training Programme. Inspiring and supporting the most promising young minds, the Class of 2025 will have the tools they need to launch tech companies that will have a global impact.
The program starts in August, and applications are available until March 18th.
2023 MEST $50,000 prize
The 2023 MEST Africa Challenge awarded an equity prize of $50,000 to the following five startups: Letaji, Chestify AI, OneHealth, Sayna, and Koa Academy.
They were victorious over forty other startups from Senegal, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria in the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC), a pitch competition for early-stage tech startups that takes place all over Africa.
The five finalists from each region were chosen after intense pitch sessions; they come from a variety of backgrounds, including health tech, e-commerce, edtech, and fintech.
At an event hosted and organised by MEST Africa, the finalists were supposed to compete for the cash prize at the end of January 2023.
Here are the finalists for last training:
Letaji, based in Kenya, is an online marketplace that is reshaping the construction industry by making it easier to buy building materials. It acts as an intermediary between leading suppliers and hardware stores, homeowners, and contractors.
Chestify AI (Ghana): Enabling smooth connections and support among clinical professionals, this innovative platform enhances patient care.
Nigeria’s OneHealth: A leader in healthcare IT, OneHealth provides a web-based platform for virtual consultations, linking patients with diagnostic centres and physicians and allowing them to track their medications and lab results in one convenient location.
From Senegal, Sayna: Sayna, a trailblazer in the field of IT edutainment, fosters a community-based approach to tech learning for companies through her unique digital products that combine education and entertainment.
South African Koa Academy: Koa Academy is leading the way in digital learning in South Africa and is paving the way for future online education.