MEST Africa has opened applications for its second annual MEST Africa Challenge, a Pan-African pitch competition for tech scale-ups based in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa or Cote d’Ivoire who are ready to expand into new markets.
This year’s finalists from each country will attend the MEST Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, June 10-12, 2019, where they will once again compete on a global stage for up to $50k in equity investment and the opportunity to join the Pan-African MEST incubator community.
“This year we’re looking for the continent’s most exciting African scale-ups who are ready to expand into new markets, and continue building world-class solutions for African problems,” said MEST Managing Director, Aaron Fu.
The team at MEST, along with this year’s platinum sponsor Microsoft will host the second edition of the Challenge FInals at the 2019 MEST Africa Summit, which will bring together leading African and global entrepreneurs, investors, corporate partners and ecosystem players in MEST Africa’s newest home, Nairobi, Kenya.
“We are excited to partner with MEST,” said Microsoft Senior Director, Chris Lwanga. “At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We firmly believe that innovation is the birthright of every human being and look forward to seeing first hand the amazing innovation coming from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire.”
The inaugural MEST Africa Challenge in 2018 saw over 700 applications across four markets, out of which 40 made it into the regional finals in Accra, Lagos, Nairobi and Cape Town. One representative from each of team was flown to Cape Town, where they presented in front of a jury of judges from Facebook, MTN, and Meltwater, as well as the Summit’s global audience of investors, Pan-African entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. Accounteer, a Nigeria-based cloud accounting company, took home the first prize including $50,000 USD in equity investment and a space in the MEST Incubator Lagos.
Applications for this year’s Challenge will be open from January 14th – February 15th, 2019. To apply companies must be post-revenue, operate in the market in which they are applying and be primarily tech-focused. Applications can be made here.
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Featured Image: MEST Cape Town Incubator Space/CIO East Africa
