MEST Africa Challenge 2025 (win $50,000 in equity) – YOA

Deadline: September 26, 2025

Applications are open for the MEST Africa Challenge 2025. The MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) is a number one Pan-African pitch competitors designed for early-stage expertise startups able to scale. The MEST Africa Challenge 2025 is led by MEST Africa and powered by Absa. MAC provides a robust platform to entry fairness funding, construct strategic networks, and acquire world visibility.

Finalists pitch stay to an viewers of prime traders, corporates, and ecosystem leaders, with standout advantages together with the possibility to win $50,000 in fairness, acquire entry into the celebrated MEST Portfolio, pilot industrial options with Absa enterprise models, and unlock unique accomplice prizes. Join a rising neighborhood of progressive African founders and take your startup to the subsequent stage.

Prizes

• Stand the possibility of profitable $50,000 in fairness
• An opportunity to affix the MEST Portfolio
• Commercial pilot pathway with Absa enterprise models for certified options
• Win prizes and perks from sponsoring companions

Eligibility

• Sector Focus:
  • Fintech and different worth chains
• Solutions could embody:
  • 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 progress-stage startups, in operations for lower than 3 years
• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) of no less than US $5,000 with no less than 6 months of recurring income
• Cumulative funding raised have to be US $1 million or much less
• Must be working in no less than one of many following key markets: Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Ghana
• Minimum of two co-founders or founding staff members
• Must be capable to pitch in English
• Registered as a Delaware C-corp or in a impartial jurisdiction (most popular, not necessary)

Application

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to MEST Africa Challenge.