MEST Africa has announced a shortlist of 36 qualified technology start-ups from 5 African countries who will be going into the regional pitch competition stage of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge.
Some of the selected startups include Ghana’s Fintech startup Digistore, Kenya’s Synatech Africa and Nutritech solutions, Nigeria’s My Food Angels and many others.
The regional competition stage will see the shortlisted start-ups 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 start-ups will be selected, one from each market, to come to Ghana for the Final Pitch Competition and Demo Day.
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, and combing through hundreds of applications, the entire journey to select our top 36 start-ups 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 finalists are also entitled to funding for up to $50,000 for winning the start-up, perk prizes from MESTs strategic partners, Global visibility including opportunities to build networks, professional coaching, mentorship from experts and the opportunity to join the global MEST Community for lifetime benefits.