MEST, a pan-African incubator has announced that 11 startups from its 2019 cohort will each receive $100,000 investment. The recipients of the investment are from Nigeria (3), Kenya (3), Ghana (4) and South Africa (1). The startups offer goods and services across diverse sectors, from agtech to fintech to beauty and entertainment
MEST will take equity in its portfolio startups, which have 18 months of incubation support from the organization, including the option to work out of MEST incubators in multiple African markets, MEST’s new MD Ashwin Ravichandran said
On future focus, MEST is looking to expand to additional countries. It currently has incubator spaces in Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya and has a strong eye on setting up shop in Cote d’Ivoire, according to Ashwin Ravichandran.
MEST will continue its entrepreneurial training programs, aimed at shaping founders who can launch companies, and maintain a strong focus on developing and investing in Africa’s early-stage startups.
Congratulations MEST Class of 2019! #MESTgrad2019 #MESTAfrica #TechEntrepreneurship pic.twitter.com/o4Xr7BHT0K
— MEST Africa (@MESTAfrica) August 11, 2019
The 11 startups that will receive the $100k includes:
Ghana
- Massira: a social support network and healthcare service aggregator for women, launching in Ghana.
- BezoMoney: a digital savings platform for traditional savings groups, launching in Ghana.
- Niqao: a financing platform that connects merchants and lenders to enable them to offer customers the option of paying in instalments, launching in Ghana.
- Adi+Bolga: a platform using the power of technology and community to gather data and create conversations around the black skin and black skincare, launching in Ghana.
Kenya
- Farmula: a web and USSD platform to create a direct connection between farmers and businesses using an automated process to increase order efficiency, launching in Kenya.
- Saada: a messaging and mobile money ticketing services for increasing digital sales and data collection, launching in Kenya.
- Nadia: a personalized automated health companion that provides quick medical attention and prescriptions, launching in Kenya.
Nigeria
- CoFundie: a platform for crowd-sourcing funds for the development of buildings using cost-efficient and time-saving techniques, launching in Nigeria.
- CoVibes: a platform that pairs verified studios and producers, allowing them to list their profiles and manage bookings while enabling artists to find and collaborate with them and each other, launching in Nigeria
- Zuri: a platform that helps beauty professionals manage their customers and provides an easy way for people to find and book beauty services, launching in Nigeria
South Africa
- Kweza: a service that enables informal retailers to order products at the best price and receive deliveries directly to their stores, launching in South Africa
