Capstone 1 Recap: Guest Lectures, Pitches, and Celebrations!

This post was written by MEST Head of Marketing, Veronica Mulhall.

After months of preparation, the MEST Training Program Class of 2020, made up of 56 Entrepreneurs-in-Training, successfully presented their Capstone One pitches to Jorn Lyseggen, guest lecturers Kofi Kwakwa and Tellef Thorleifsson, MEST staff, and their peers.

Guest Lectures Kofi Kwakwa and Tellef Thorleifsson share their stories
MEST is fortunate to have mentors from around the world that wish to share their stories and learnings with the MEST community. It was an honor to have two such accomplished individuals, Kofi Kwakwa and Tellef Thorleifsson, join MEST to kick off Capstone One as guest lecturers.

Guest Lecture from Tellef Thorleifsson
First to the stage was guest lecturer, Tellef Thorleifsson, all the way from Norway. Tellef Thorleifsson started his career taking part in the founding of Western Bulk Shipping, a global company, which he then took public as a CFO. After his interest in technology inspired him to make a switch and he co-founded the famed Northzone in 1996. Tellef has over the years invested companies such as LastMinute.com, Mamut Software, and Trolltech. Since 2018, Tellef is the CEO of Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries.

Tellef’s Advice to Entrepreneurs
Coming from an investment perspective, Tellef shared valuable advice for entrepreneurs. Here are four takeaways:

1. When pitching your business, conveying the ‘why’ is key!
2. Be authentic, explain your proposal in clear terms and give a proper presentation of your team. Provide proof that you have a good product, and underpin your pitch with metrics and other measurables.
3. Having a clear vision, thinking long term, and building a strong team, are the core elements for success.
4. Solve real problems, and have a clear mission and vision.

Guest Lecturer Kofi Kwakwa
The next guest lecturer to the stage was one of Ghana’s most respected business leaders, a World Economic Forum Global Leader, and a board member of Asheshi University, Kofi Kwakwa. Kofi was a senior manager at McKinsey & Company. He joined the firm in its Washington DC office and subsequently moved to Johannesburg, where he was one of the first consultants charged with developing a new African practice for the firm.

Then he became Director of Strategic Investments, Joint Ventures & Alliances at Standard Bank Group, the largest banking group in Africa and a leading emerging markets bank. In this capacity, Kofi directed and made private equity investments in companies spanning a wide range of industries. Kofi represented Standard Bank on boards of companies he invested in, playing a critical, hands-on role in corporate governance, strategy development, and execution, as well as performance monitoring and improvements. He is now the founder of Sagevest making private equity investments in companies across West Africa.

Kofi’s Advice to Entrepreneurs

1. There is always order even within chaos and to cherish moments of hardship. Kofi learned this first hand growing up helping his mother manage their kiosk by the Neoplan station, Ghana.
2. As an entrepreneur, think of how much money you really need. Align how much you are raising with your capability to absorb the incoming funds
3. Forecasting is tricky- distinguish between meeting an expressed need versus creating completely new demand.
4. We are human ‘beings’, not human ‘doings’. What you are doing is important, but who you are ‘being’ is more important. When we look to invest, first we think ‘who’ (we are investing in) and after we think ‘what’ (is their product or idea).
5. To the people who want to change the world, you must first think about changing yourself.
6. Know your story, and learn how to tell it well.

Capstone One Pitches
“I am amazed at what I have seen — You all are phenomenal — With that, I open pitches for MEST Capstone One!” Femi Adewumi, Director of the MEST Training Program

In order of pitch, here are the teams that took the stage:

Jenga Co.
We kick off our Capstone One pitches with Jenga Co. Jenga Co. is an AI powered home development tool that disrupts the construction space by providing a delightful construction experience from foundation to finish.

Visitour
According to Kofi Kwakwa, team Visitour has the best-combined skill-set to offer a travel concierge service that provides a seamless travel experience from arrival to destination.

Dryv
Dryv thinks they can edge out the competition by building a car servicing platform to connect owners and car mechanics together in real-time.

Felix Darko, MEST Training Program Fellow, had the crowd roaring with excitement as he introduced the next pitch!

Sendego
Sendego combines the English word Send with the Igbo word for money “Ego” together, to make money transfer across Africa a more enjoyable process.

Usafi Pro
“Great pitch!” said, Tellef Thorleifsson about Usafi Pro, which saves homeowners from the regular chore of cleaning, by connecting them with cleaners on-demand.

Lumia
With Lumia, you can have fun at your event without worrying about parking space.

Roadsure
Jorn Lyseggen is intrigued by Roadsure, which ensures that you can afford to pay for those unforeseen car breakdowns that happen far too frequently.

Tryb
It is the Year of Return and Tryb provides millennials across the world, the chance to explore the beautiful continent of Africa with the click of a button.

Tenant I/O
“There is huge potential in this market,” thought Tellef Thorleifsson about Tenant I/O which is changing the Real Estate rental experience for potential tenants and landlords by peer-to-peer recommendation and insider details.

Dolph.in
“I thought that was very well put together- maybe my favorite pitch so far” said Jorn Lyseggen about Dolph.in, which helps SME owners recruit digital marketers with up to a 4x turn-around.

Insight
Insight brings measuring and evaluating the impact of development projects to the digital age — speeding and simplifying the process.

YoAfrican
“I have seen a few of these types of pitches — this is one of the best!” exclaimed Jorn Lyseggen of YoAfrican which is a fashion platform that presents African designers and their brands to consumers across the continent.

Henny
“It’s fresh and really interesting,” Jorn Lyseggen thought of Henny, which is redefining the leisure experience by providing millennials with real-time information on their favorite leisure spots.

Cheers all around!

After breaking and changing into their finest, the Entrepreneurs-in-Training and MEST community joined the MEST alumni from the past 11 years for the 2019 MEST Reunion. It was the largest reunion to date and a wonderful way to close the day — with a great celebration!