MEST Africa: Wrapping Up 2025
2025 wasn’t just another year for MEST; it was a transformational moment!
A year where 17 years of founder development met a bold new direction built for an AI-powered future. We redesigned our flagship training program into the MEST AI Startup Program: a 7-month hands-on AI-first training program followed by a 4-month incubation for top teams.
This year also marked a new beginning for our physical home. After saying goodbye to our beloved East Legon campus in 2024, the home of our iconic bridge and countless memories, we fully settled into our vibrant new space in Osu. Positioned at the heart of Ghana’s startup energy, our new home is the perfect launchpad for the next chapter of MEST Africa’s mission.
In January 2026, 29 entrepreneurs from 7 African countries will join us there to begin this new path.
Here is how we shaped the ecosystem this year:
2025 Highlights at a Glance
Launch of MESTx: We rebranded our partner-powered initiatives (formerly “MEST Programs”) to MESTx. This new identity unifies our work with partners like the Mastercard Foundation and UNICEF, focusing on scaling impact beyond our internal portfolio.
Portfolio Growth: This year, we expanded the MEST Portfolio with three high-caliber additions that are building critical infrastructure for the continent:
- Convexity: We welcomed Convexity, a blockchain solutions provider and the key architect behind cNGN; Nigeria’s first regulated stablecoin. By enabling compliant, decentralized financial rails, they are positioning themselves ahead of competitors to power the next generation of digital currency in Africa’s largest economy.
- Black Swan AI: Emerging as the winner of the MEST Africa Challenge 2025, Black Swan secured a $50,000 equity investment to fuel their mission to “Make Africa Bankable”. Co-founded by Derick Kazimoto, their platform uses AI to turn fragmented, informal data into instant credit intelligence, allowing financial institutions to see the true risk of invisible borrowers and unlock inclusive lending at scale.
- PaidHR: We also invested in PaidHR, a platform partnering with employers to simplify workforce management. Their meticulously crafted solutions empower companies to build the “best place to work,” driving efficiency and culture in the modern African workplace.
Major Capital Injections: Our portfolio companies raised significant external capital, including Complete Farmer (More than $5M) and AgroInnova ($1.3M).
Programs, Milestones & Impact
The MEST AI Startup Program
In 2025, MEST Africa’s flagship program entered a new chapter. For nearly 17 years, we’ve trained Africa’s leading tech entrepreneurs and this year, we evolved our approach to meet the realities of startup building today. The result is the MEST AI Startup Program: a cutting-edge founder journey built for an AI-first world.
The AI Startup Program introduces a rigorous new structure. Seven months of hands-on, studio-based training followed by four months of incubation for select ventures. Founders emerging from incubation will have the opportunity to pitch for pre-seed investment from MEST, continuing the bridge from talent development to venture creation.
The program is facilitated by world-class experts across business, technology, product, design, and features workshops and guest lectures cover various topics, including leadership, founder wellness, responsible AI, and more. Learning is practical, immersive, and deeply collaborative. This is not passive learning. It is founder training built around real problems, rapid iteration, and global standards. The entrepreneurs live, work, and build together for the duration of the program. Get to know more about the AI Startup Program here.
The MEST Portfolio
The story of the MEST Portfolio in 2025 is one of maturation and momentum. While we continued to back new innovation, our established ventures demonstrated that African startups are not only scaling; they are building real, tangible infrastructure that moves industries forward.
Complete Farmer anchored this narrative. True to their vision of creating a world that “eats together by working together,” the all-in-one platform digitizing agriculture from supply to demand secured $5M to strengthen value chains and €2.2M to build six physical fulfilment hubs in Ghana.
We also witnessed the ecosystem completing a full cycle: Exo AI acquired BezoMoney. By merging Exo’s advanced AI capabilities with BezoMoney’s success in digitizing traditional savings groups (locally called susu) for the unbanked, the combined entity is set to deliver actionable insights and scale inclusive finance across Africa.
Simultaneously, we are reloading the pipeline with the next generation of founders ready to follow in these footsteps. Black Swan AI emerged as the MEST Africa Challenge winner, joining the portfolio on a mission to “Make Africa Bankable” by using AI to turn fragmented data into instant credit intelligence for inclusive lending.
We also welcomed Convexity, the key architect behind Nigeria’s first regulated stablecoin, who is building the secure rails for the future of digital finance. Finally, PaidHR joins the fold, partnering with employers to simplify complex workforce management and empower companies to build the “best place to work.”
MESTx
UNICEF StartUp Lab: Imagine a bridge between high-potential startups and the complex challenges facing children in Ghana. That is the essence of the UNICEF StartUp Lab (USL). The story of the USL is about moving beyond traditional charity and instead using innovation as a tool for social impact. It begins by identifying startups that are already building market-driven solutions in health, education, and sanitation, and asking, “How can we help you scale this to save or improve lives?
This year, USL has accelerated 25 startups, reaching 250,000 children.
$30,000 in scale-up fund was awarded to the companies: Booksie, Nutriscan & WASHKING.
The GROW Project: Addresses a clear reality; while local jobs can be scarce, the global demand for remote talent is growing. This coalition-led initiative gives young Ghanaians a direct path to enter the workforce through freelance and remote opportunities. The program delivers practical training in high-demand fields like Data Science, AWS Cloud, and Customer Service. MEST Africa implements the Web Development and Digital Marketing tracks, focusing on the hard skills learners need to transition immediately from the classroom to earning an income in the digital economy.
Impact:
- 32,932 applications received.
- 697 young people trained, including 570 women.
- Delivered 15 cohorts across Web Development and Digital Marketing.
- Graduates now working across tech, agritech, retail, banking, and more.
The UNDP YAI Program: The UNDP Young Africa Innovates (YAI) program proves that innovation does not just happen in tech hubs; it is happening everywhere. In 2024, MEST partnered with the UNDP and the Mastercard Foundation to find and support “atypical” innovators who are often overlooked by traditional funding: rural youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
Rather than a one-off grant, the program used a unique “Stage Gate” model to guide 160 founders through a structured journey. They started with raw ideas, moved to testing them in real markets, and finally received the specialized technical support needed to scale. The result was practical and immediate: these innovators.
The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is focused on a singular mission: taking high-potential education technology ventures and helping them scale to reach students who need them most.
Across two cohorts, we have supported 24 ventures, helping them refine their products and business models. The results are tangible; these companies have collectively reached 623,227 learners, with a deliberate focus on inclusivity (nearly half are female and 13% are in rural areas).
The program is proving that Ghanaian EdTech can compete globally, with Fellows featuring on the BBC and securing major government contracts. As we move into 2026, we are preparing to onboard our third and final cohort of 12 companies to complete this impactful cycle.
Looking Ahead
As MEST enters its 18th year, we step forward with renewed clarity and momentum.
In 2026, we’ll deepen our work by scaling the AI Startup Program, delivering the final Mastercard Foundation EdTech cohort, and advancing our other planned initiatives across MESTx and the broader ecosystem. Together, these efforts will strengthen MEST Africa’s role as a leading launchpad for founder development and innovation across the continent.
None of this work happens alone. It is powered by the founders who take bold risks, the partners who believe in what Africa can build, the people behind MEST who pour their expertise and energy into this mission, and the community that continues to grow around us. Here’s to a year of progress, growth, and shared impact.
We can’t wait to build what comes next, together!
