MEST Africa has announced Sproutly (Nigeria), Kwely (Senegal), Swoove (Ghana), Hisa (Kenya) and Desert Green Africa (South Africa) as the startups who will be into the grand finale of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge pitch competition.
The pan-African pitch competition opened applications in July this year for pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa to bid for the ultimate prize of $50,000.
After going through the online application, regional pitches, and founder interview phases of the competition, these 5 finalists have been selected for the final pitch. Each startup will represent their country at the Demo Day and Final Pitch Competition that will be held in Accra Ghana in December 2022. Speaking on the selection of the top 5 startups, the Director of Portfolio at MEST Africa, Melissa Nsiah said:
It hasn’t been an easy process. Mostly because, this year, we saw so many valid business models and met some incredible founders with huge visions that align very closely with ours. But in the final analysis we were able to zero in on the cream of the crop to select the top 5 companies from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa in alignment with this year’s selection criteria. Our team is eager to work closely with each of the 5 finalists in preparation towards the final competition day in December.
Here are details of the startups who have made it in the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge:
Kwely connect the dots between local African producers, global consumers and international buyers. Our goal is to be the leading African B2B e-commerce platform that redefines the perception of African products and the way African buyers and sellers transact with each other
Swoove is a logistics technology company that develops infrastructure to enable small businesses operating online to reach customers across the country.
An online and mobile app platform that allows users to trade stocks, bonds and ETFs Hisa is building the tech infrastructure for investing in Africa.
Desert Green is an Agritech transforming the Informal Agri-value chain in Africa by providing a more efficient delivery of Fresh produce from small scale farmers to informal traders.
MEST will provide the winning startup with investment capital to the amount 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 including global visibility, building their networks, professional coaching, mentorship from experts, and the opportunity to join the global MEST community for lifetime benefits.
You can keep track of MEST challenge future updates through following the MEST Challenge program page.