MEST Africa Challenge Picks 7 Kenya Tech Startups for a Regional Battle

MEST Africa has announced a shortlist of 36 qualified technology startups from 5 African countries that will be going into the regional pitch competition stage of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge. 

The Next Stage of the Competition

MEST has shared some key updates on the MEST Africa Challenge and the upcoming regional competitions. 

The regional competition stage will see the shortlisted startups placed into 4 main pitching groups that will participate in virtual pitch competitions scheduled to take place between the 10th and 13th of October 2022.

Each pitch competition will be adjudicated by a panel of expert judges from around the continent. 

From the regional pitch stage, 10 finalists will be selected for the next stage, which will consist of individual interviews with the company founders.

Following the interview stage, 5 startups will be selected, one from each market, to come to Ghana for the Final Pitch Competition and Demo Day.

Among those picked from Kenya include Synatech Africa, Nutritech Solutions, mSwahili and Hisa Inc.

Speaking on the selection process and changes to the regional competitions, the Director of Portfolio at MEST Africa Melissa Nsiah said:

“MAC has been an absolute thrill and we aren’t even at the finals yet! From planning to launching the actual competition, combing through hundreds of applications, the entire journey to select our top 36 startups to move forward to regional finals has been an exciting learning curve. Moving forward from last year’s fully virtual competition, I am impressed by the planning team’s creative approach in merging both virtual and in-person pitch styles to widen our audience and deliver the best overall experience for our partners and contestants alike.”

The winner of the challenge will be prized USD 50,000 in equity investment.

Finalists will gain exclusive access to the MEST Community including expert business coaches and mentors, global investors, and many more.