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Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology
MEST logo
FounderJørn Lyseggen
Established2008
MissionCreate jobs in Africa
Budget$2 million/year
OwnerMeltwater Foundation
Location
Accra
,
Ghana
Websitemeltwater.org

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program, seed fund, and incubator headquartered in Accra, Ghana.[1][2] The three-phased institution was founded in 2008 to provide training, investment, and mentoring for aspiring technology entrepreneurs with the goal of creating globally successful companies that create wealth and jobs locally in Africa.[3][4][5]

Over 80 African tech companies have been launched through MEST Africa including Meqasa, Kudobuzz, Asoriba, Complete Farmer, TroTro Tractor, BezoMoney [6]

Since launching in 2008, MEST backed startups have been acquired by investors, or recognized internationally by organisations such as Techstars, 500 Startups, Y Combinator[7] and at events like the LAUNCH Conference in San Francisco.[8][9]

History

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MEST was unveiled in 2007 when Meltwater founder Jorn Lyseggen announced plans to establish an entrepreneurial training program in Africa. The school opened in February 2008 with the first class of Entrepreneurs in Training (EITs).[10] The first class of EITs graduated in February 2010. The MEST Incubator was also launched with seed funding for portfolio companies from the first batch of EITs.[11]

In 2015, MEST cut down the duration of its main Training Program from 2-years to one year, reducing classroom time in favor of practical exposure and enabling trainees to start building their businesses sooner.[12]

In January 2015, MEST partnered with Vodafone Ghana to sponsor a 48-hour hackathon to help develop access to information, simplify transactions and shorten business processes.[13][14] MEST announced a partnership with Samsung in April 2015. As part of the agreement, Samsung provided subsidized devices and internship positions, as well as marketing services and mobile application distribution, in exchange for the opportunity to invest in MEST companies through its Samsung Enterprise Business Partners.[15] MEST hosted the first Africa Technology Summit in November 2015 in Accra, Ghana, with the event featuring panels and keynote presentations from a variety of global and African businesses.[16]

In 2016, MEST began recruiting EITs from the French-speaking Ivory Coast[17] and opened an additional business incubator in Lagos while planning to open an additional location in Cape Town.[18][19][20][21][22] That same year, MEST entered a partnership with Kosmos Energy to form the Kosmos Innovation Centre to focus on creating agriculture solutions.[23][24] In December 2016, MEST hosted the second Africa Tech Summit in Lagos, Nigeria, including speakers from Google, Uber, Interswitch, Vodacom and Samsung.[25][26]

In 2017, MEST Africa partnered with 500 Startups for the premier edition of Geeks on a Plane Africa tour which took place in Nigeria (Lagos), Ghana (Accra), and South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town).[27] In September 2017,  MEST announced that it would expand its presence across the continent with several new incubator spaces in additional African markets.[28][29]

To celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2018, MEST announced it will be investing an amount of $700,000 in seed funding in 7 portfolio companies.[30]

In 2019, MEST announced Ashwin Ravichandran as its new Managing director [31][32]

Organisation and People

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MEST Africa is the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a Norwegian software as a service (SaaS) solution and the leading online media monitoring company headquartered in San Francisco, California.[33] The founder of Meltwater, Jorn Lyseggen, founded MEST Africa through the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of the company.

Program and Initiatives

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Core Training Program

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MEST sponsors aspiring African entrepreneurs to complete a 12-month program focused on software development, business fundamentals, and entrepreneurship.[22] Graduates, business executives and entrepreneurs from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and other African countries, are selected each year to receive comprehensive training in computer programming, product management, finance, marketing, sales, business leadership, and other skills required to build a successful technology business on the continent.[34] Upon completing the training program, the best business ideas are provided seed funding and incubated as MEST portfolio companies.[35]

Partner Programs

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Besides, its core training 12-month program, MEST Africa has also announced the rollout of specialized training programs for specific demographics and businesses in partnership with organizations such as Mastercard Foundation,[36] GIZ,[37] UNICEF,[38] Catalyst Fund.[39]

Pre-MEST Start-Up Creation Program

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The Pre-MEST Program is an early-stage training program by MEST in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The program targets young people with the desire to build their technology and business acumen. By learning the new technical skills needed to start a successful company or add value to existing employers. Pre-MEST works to further improve and add value to the growing demand and interest in software entrepreneurship across Ghana.

Pan-African Tech Initiatives

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In 2018, MEST Africa launched its inaugural Pan-African Pitch competition, the MEST Africa Challenge, which saw over 700 applications from startups in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.[40][41] Since then, MEST has organized the competition each year offering up to $50,000 in equity investment to African entrepreneurs as they build and scale businesses on the continent.[42]

Leveraging on its network, MEST has been organizing the MEST Africa Summit, formerly Africa Technology Summit - an Africa-wide technology summit - since 2015.[43] The event which has been organized in different African cities Accra,[44] Lagos,[45] Cape Town[46] and Nairobi[47] over the years, brings together the continent's entrepreneurs, investors, ecosystem players, and executives from across Africa and globally to discuss learnings, trends, challenges, and innovations on the continent.[48][12]

Recognitions

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In February 2015, the school was recognized as one of the top 10 most innovative companies of Africa by Fast Company.[49] Inc.com also named MEST Africa as one of 5 companies pioneering tech in developing countries.[50] In 2015, Aljazeera recognized MEST Africa as a successful incubator for African startups.[51]

Syncommerce, a MEST Portfolio company won Best Game and Entertainment startup at Techcrunch's 2017 Startup Battlefield Africa.[52] In 2020, MEST Alumni and co-founder of MEST portfolio company BACE API, Charlette N'Guessan, won the 2020 Royal Academy of Engineering's Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation making her the first woman to win the award.[53] Her innovation was said to have the potential to ‘revolutionize cybersecurity and help curb identity fraud on the continent’.[54]

The Royal Academy of Engineering also announced MEST portfolio companies CodeLn and Jumeni as finalists of the Africa Prize for engineering innovation award in 2021[55]

Portfolio

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MEST provides seed funding of $10k-$100k and incubation to early-stage companies coming out of its training program.[56] Over 80 early-stage software companies across industries have received funding upon completion of the training program.[6]

List of Portfolio Companies

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    • Adi+Bolga
    • AgroInnova
    • Aidahbot
    • Ampersand
    • Anitrack
    • Asoriba
    • BACE
    • Beam
    • Beam
    • BezoMoney
    • Bidiibuild
    • Boxconn
    • Buildpals
    • CodeLn
    • CoFundie
    • CompleteFarmer
    • Covibes
    • Curacel Health
    • DaMansah
    • DevLess
    • Dropque
    • Eleka
    • Farmula
    • FreelancePro
    • Ghalani
    • Heny
    • Joluud
    • Joovlin
    • Judy
    • Jumeni
    • KPI Lens
    • Kudobuzz
    • Kweza
    • Leti Arts
    • Loystar
    • Massira
    • MeQasa
    • mPawa
    • mPawa
    • Nadia
    • Nandimobile
    • Nestmetric
    • Niqao
    • Noni
    • Nvoicia
    • Once Out
    • Orgaroo
    • Orgaroo
    • Pollafrique
    • Qisimah
    • QualiTrace
    • Saada
    • Shina
    • Shopa
    • Suba
    • SynCommerce
    • Tendo
    • TransGov
    • Tress
    • Trotro Tractor
    • Truckr
    • VendyAds
    • VesiCash
    • Vestracker
    • Vestracker
    • Zuri

Exists

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    • AdGeek
    • Adsbrook
    • AFRadio
    • Amplify
    • Claim Sync
    • Dropifi
    • PaySail
    • Retail Tower
    • Saya

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thekkepat, Shiva Kumar (15 April 2011). "A Leg-Up With Start-Ups in Ghana". Gulf News. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  2. ^ Bright, Jake (17 October 2015). "Ghana's MEST Incubator to Launch Pan-African VC Fund, Expand Training Programs". TechCrunch. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  3. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (20 July 2011). "EBay Billionaire Omidyar Gives Nigerian Tech Incubator $200,000". Forbes. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ^ Quandzie, Ekow (5 December 2011). "Meltwater Foundation Provides Seed Funding for Two New Ghanaian Software Startups". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  5. ^ Abdelkrim, Samir (29 January 2016). "MEST, l'incubateur de Silicon Valley Africaines". Le Monde Afrique. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b "MEST - Portfolio". meltwater.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  7. ^ Agunbiade, Tola (28 June 2016). "Hairstyle Inspiration App, Tress, Has Been Accepted Into The Y Combinator Fellowship Program". TechCabal. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  8. ^ Porter, Kiesha (10 July 2013). "Ghana's 'Dropifi' Startup Takes on Silicon Valley". CNN. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Nandimobile Limited named". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  10. ^ Jamaluddin, Monica (23 January 2013). "A Year in Review at Meltwater Incubator in Accra - Ghana". Silicon Africa. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  11. ^ Butcher, Mike (14 June 2012). "Out of Africa - A Whole MEST of Startups Emerges in Ghana". TechCrunch. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "MEST Africa: Lessons learned from 10 years supporting tech entrepreneurs on the continent". Mobile for Development. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  13. ^ Jackson, Tom (28 January 2015). "MEST Partners Vodafone Ghana for Hackathon". Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  14. ^ "Vodafone, MEST Hackathon App Developer Competition Finalised". Ghana News Agency. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  15. ^ Jackson, Tom (23 April 2015). "MEST Partners Samsung to Support West African Startups". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  16. ^ "African Technology Summit (ATS) 2015, Accra Ghana". Tech Afrique. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  17. ^ Abdelkrim, Samir (30 November 2016). "L'incubateur Ghanéen MEST Lance à Abidjan son " Erasmus " des Start-up Africaines". Le Monde. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  18. ^ Adegoke, Yinka. "Ghana's startup hub pioneer is going pan-African with a $50 million fund". Quartz. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  19. ^ EST, Conor Gaffey On 11/29/16 at 3:30 AM (29 November 2016). "Why the tech scene is thriving in Silicon Lagoon, West Africa's tech hub". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Adegoke, Yinka (13 April 2016). "Ghana's Startup Hub Pioneer is Going Pan-African With a $50 Million Fund". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  21. ^ Osamuyi, Osarumen (2 August 2016). "Neku Atawodi Has Taken the Reins at MEST's New Lagos Incubator". TechCabal. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  22. ^ a b Mugendi, Eric (22 March 2016). "The MEST Training Programme Is Recruiting In South Africa And Expanding to Kenya and Nigeria". TechCabal. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  23. ^ Debrah, Ameyaw (April 2016). "Kosmos Innovation Centre Launched in Accra". Yen. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Kosmos Makes Strides in Addressing Challenges in Agric Sector". Citifm Online. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  25. ^ Jackson, Tom (20 October 2016). "MEST to Host Tech Summit in Lagos". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  26. ^ "MEST Take Africa Tech Summit to Nigeria - AB2020". AB2020. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  27. ^ "Geeks on a Plane Africa kicks off as 500 Startups eyes tech for the continent and beyond". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  28. ^ Jackson, Tom (26 September 2017). "New MEST Boss Plots Major Expansion Across Africa". Disrupt Africa. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  29. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (12 September 2017). "Meet Aaron Fu, The New Boss of Africa's Largest Tech Incubator". Forbes. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  30. ^ Shapshak, Toby. "Renowned African Incubator MEST Celebrates 10 Years With $700,000 Investment". Forbes. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  31. ^ "MEST - Blog". meltwater.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  32. ^ "African incubator MEST has a new MD and 11 fresh startup investments". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  33. ^ "About: History, Culture & Teams". Meltwater. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  34. ^ "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Africa". Fast Company. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  35. ^ "Seven African Technology Start-Ups to Receive Funding From MEST". 24 September 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  36. ^ "MEST, Mastercard Foundation launch Startup Creation training programme in Ghana". Disrupt Africa. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  37. ^ Frank (4 March 2020). "MEST teams up with GIZ to launch female-focused accelerator programme | Africa Inc". Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  38. ^ "The UNICEF Startup Laboratory". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Catalyst Fund, Mastercard Foundation, MEST launch $4.3m Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator in Ghana". Disrupt Africa. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  40. ^ "The MEST Africa Challenge 2018 by MEST Africa". VC4A. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  41. ^ "MEST - Blog". meltwater.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  42. ^ Africa, MEST (18 March 2020). "MEST's $50K African Tech startup competition is now accepting applications from entrepreneurs in…". Medium. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  43. ^ "MEST announces Africa Technology Summit". Disrupt Africa. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  44. ^ "MEST's Africa Technology Summit begins today". Disrupt Africa. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  45. ^ "TRUE Africa | MEST's Africa Tech Summit is coming to Lagos this December". TRUE Africa. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  46. ^ "MEST - Blog". meltwater.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  47. ^ Africa, MEST (23 May 2019). "First wave of Speakers announced: MEST Africa Summit". Medium. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  48. ^ "MEST Africa Summit to hold in Nairobi, Kenya this June". BENJAMIN DADA | Impressive reporting on tech in SSA. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  49. ^ Staff, Fast Company (9 February 2015). "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Africa". Fast Company. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  50. ^ Power, Rhett (11 September 2017). "5 Companies Pioneering Tech in Developing Countries". Inc.com. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  51. ^ Aljazeera's Ama Boateng Reports on MEST, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 28 July 2021
  52. ^ "Lori Systems wins Best of Show at Startup Battlefield Africa". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  53. ^ "First woman to win the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation".
  54. ^ "A 26-year-old is first woman to win the Royal Academy of Engineering's Africa Prize". CNN. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  55. ^ "Africa Prize announces finalists for continent's largest engineering innovation award".
  56. ^ "MEST - Internal Seed Fund". meltwater.org. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
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