The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program, seed fund, and incubator headquartered in Accra, Ghana. 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.
Over 80 African tech companies have been launched through MEST Africa including Meqasa, Kudobuzz, Asoriba, Complete Farmer, TroTro Tractor, BezoMoney
Since launching in 2008, MEST backed startups have been acquired by investors, or recognized internationally by organisations such as Techstars, 500 Startups, Y Combinator and at events like the LAUNCH Conference in San Francisco.
History
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). 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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
In 2016, MEST began recruiting EITs from the French-speaking Ivory Coast and opened an additional business incubator in Lagos while planning to open an additional location in Cape Town. That same year, MEST entered a partnership with Kosmos Energy to form the Kosmos Innovation Centre to focus on creating agriculture solutions. In December 2016, MEST hosted the second Africa Tech Summit in Lagos, Nigeria, including speakers from Google, Uber, Interswitch, Vodacom and Samsung.
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). In September 2017, MEST announced that it would expand its presence across the continent with several new incubator spaces in additional African markets.
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.
In 2019, MEST announced Ashwin Ravichandran as its new Managing director
Organisation and People
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. The founder of Meltwater, Jorn Lyseggen, founded MEST Africa through the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of the company.
Program and Initiatives
Core Training Program
MEST sponsors aspiring African entrepreneurs to complete a 12-month program focused on software development, business fundamentals, and entrepreneurship. 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. Upon completing the training program, the best business ideas are provided seed funding and incubated as MEST portfolio companies.
Partner Programs
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, GIZ, UNICEF, Catalyst Fund.