Eligibility criteria Sector Focus: Fintech and other value chains Solutions may include: Smart Credit & Alt-Lending Fraud & Trust Tech Personalised Money OS Offline-Friendly Rails Next-Gen Payments & Wallets Investment Gateways Agri-Tech Engines Financial Literacy Re-imagined Omnichannel CX & Super-Apps Trade & Cross-Border Boosters Product-Landing Platforms Value-Add Service Layers Integration Orchestrators Micro & On-Demand Insurtech Early- to growth-stage startups, in operations for less than 3 years Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) of at least US $5,000 with at least 6 months of recurring revenue Cumulative funding raised must be US $1 million or less Must be operating in at least one of the following key markets: Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Ghana Minimum of two co-founders or founding team members Must be able to pitch in English Registered as a Delaware C-corp or in a neutral jurisdiction (preferred, not mandatory)
Timeline of the competition Applications open: 4 August 2025 Applications close: 26 September 2025 Top 20 participants announced: 10 October 2025 Virtual semi-finals: Week of 27 October 2025 In-person finals in Cape Town, South Africa: Week of 24 November 2025
About MEST Africa Established in 2008 as the non‑profit arm of Meltwater, the Meltwater Foundation drives job creation and economic growth in Africa through software entrepreneurship. Headquartered in Accra, Ghana, the Foundation’s Entrepreneurial Support Organisation—MEST—delivers a full-time, in-person intensive tech‑entrepreneurship training to emerging talent from more than 22 African countries and provides early‑stage investment to promising ventures. To extend this impact, the Foundation launched MESTx, a suite of collaborative programs designed and delivered with like‑minded partners to expand digital‑skills training and startup acceleration across the continent. Since its inception, the Meltwater Foundation has trained 2,000+ entrepreneurs and invested in 90+ startups across the continent—fueling innovation, creating jobs, and shaping Africa’s next generation of tech entrepreneurs.
FAQ Where will the Semi-Final Pitch competition be? The Semi Finals will be virtual. A link for this session will be shared in advance to all Semi Finalists. What are the thematic areas for MAC 2025? Smart Credit & Alt-Lending • Instant credit decisions for BNPL, cards, micro-loans. • Agri & startup loan engines using non-traditional data. • MSME scoring built on telco, utility & POS signals. • Plug-and-play credit-risk cover via insurtech APIs. Fraud & Trust Tech • AI that spots deepfakes and synthetic IDs in real time. • Biometric ID&V layers that slash digital fraud. • Always-on monitoring that learns and adapts. Personalised Money OS • Hyper-tailored offers driven by first-party analytics. • Multi-bank personal finance managers that ‘just work’. • Open-banking checkout APIs & curated API hubs. Offline-Friendly Rails • Auto reconciliation & payouts for cash-heavy billers (gov, utilities). • WhatsApp-first banking for youth & gig workers. • “Ecosystem banking” playbooks for schools, mines, markets. Next-Gen Payments & Wallets • Embedded checkout for e-commerce and gig platforms. • Proxy-Pay P2P, shared wallets, easy app plugins. • Social gifting, group pots and susu via bank-linked wallets. Investment Gateways • Marketplaces for both traditional and alternative assets. • Diaspora-powered SME crowdfunding & remittances. • Digital group saving / investment clubs (SACCO 2.0). Agri-Tech Engines • IoT-guided smart farming with sensors and drones. • Farmer networks for learning, inputs, secondments. • Robust profiling tools that plug farmers into finance and markets. Financial Literacy Re-imagined • Gamified money lessons for women & youth. • USSD/mobile micro-courses co-built with ed-tech partners. Omnichannel CX & Super-Apps • One front door to multiple banks and fintechs. • Fintech aggregation inside super-apps. • “One-tap onboard” journeys that feel Uber-easy. Trade & Cross-Border Boosters • End-to-end SME trade portals—forex, customs, finance. • Pan-African payment and logistics bridges for commerce. Product-Landing Platforms • White-label or modular marketplaces that let ABSA (and partners) launch new products to internal & external users in weeks, not months. • Built-in compliance, KYC/AML, and analytics dashboards. • Being able to host ABSA’s offers out-of-the-box is a clear edge. Value-Add Service Layers • Third-party solutions—insurance add-ons, telco bundles, loyalty perks—delivered through open APIs. • “Drop-in” integrations that enrich ABSA’s existing channels and unlock fresh fee lines. • Services independent of core banking rails yet tightly linked to customer value. Integration Orchestrators • Middleware or iPaaS players that stitch multiple partner services into a single API for ABSA apps. • Pre-built connectors to telcos, utilities, gov platforms, and fintech data sources. • One-touch onboarding for new partners, slashing time-to-market for features Micro & On-Demand Insurtech • Pay-as-you-use cover; usage-based pricing; instant AI-driven claims. What is the Grand Prize? $50,000 in equity investment, access to MEST Portfolio resources and prizes from this year’s partners Where does my startup need to be located to participate in the challenge? You’re eligible to apply if your company operates in one or more of the target countries – Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Ghana How long are finalists expected to be in Cape Town for the Final Demo Day? 3-4 days. Plan to arrive in Cape Town 1-2 days before the final competition and depart the day after. Will MEST organize pitch readiness sessions for applicants? Pitch readiness sessions will only be organized for Finalists in preparation for the final Demo Day. Who incurs the cost of travel for the Final Demo Day in South Africa? Finalists will be fully sponsored with travel to and from Cape Town including, housing, and transport for the final pitch day in November 2025. Please plan to arrive in Cape Town a few days before. Is the Final Demo Day in-person? Yes. What city and country will the Finale be held in? Cape Town, South Africa Is the pitch competition physical? Hybrid. Semi Finals will be virtual and the final demo day will be in Cape Town, South Africa When will the winners be announced? Semi Finalists will be announced a few days after their pitch and the overall challenge winner will be announced at the end of the Final Demo Day in November. What language should we pitch in? All pitches and Q&A will be made in English. How long do we have for our pitch? Each pitch will last for 5 minutes with 5 minutes Q&A. Startups can include a live demo of their product during pitches. This should be within time. What are the video pitch guidelines for the application? The video duration should be a maximum of 3 minutes and can be taken with a mobile phone The applicant must appear on camera for the pitch. This means that animated videos, videos with text and a voiceover, etc. cannot be used as the pitch. Applicants will not be scored on video quality, as the focus will be on the pitch itself, however, the applicant must ensure s/he is visible and audible. The pitch must be made in English What are the eligibility criteria for the MAC 2025? Must be an early-stage technology startup Must be a fintech, insuretech or operating in similar value chains Must offer at least one of the following solutions – Digital payments, Financial inclusion, Insurance innovation and or value chain financing Must be operating in at least one of the following key markets: Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Ghana Monthly Recurring Revenue: A minimum of $5k Funding raised: Cumulative $1M or less Years in existence: 3 years and below Traction: At least 6 months of recurring revenue Founding team: At least 2 founding team members Registered in Delaware (This is preferred) What are the various stages of the competition? Complete an online application including a 3mins Video pitch Selection of the top 20 applicants Virtual Semi-Finals competition Selection of top 10 startups The top 10 compete at the grand finale and Demo Day in Cape Town, South Africa