MEST invests $700k in seven startups that took part in 2018 cohort

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has announced that it has invested $700 000 in seven startups that were formed from teams that took part in its 2018 cohort.

The seven startups were selected following a pitch event that took place last month in Ghana. The seven, which are set to join MEST’s incubators in Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, each received $100 000 in equity investments. The startups join MEST Africa’s portfolio of 36 companies.

MEST’s 10th cohort comprised 58 entrepreneurs hailing from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. The entrepreneurs were then split into 17 teams.

The seven startups that received the equity investments were part of MEST’s 10th cohort and are set to launch in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria

In a statement last month, MEST managing director Aaron Fu said the seven startups that had received investment represent the strength of the “incredible diversity” within MEST’s cohorts.

“Not only are they immediately launching all across Africa, but each of these startups are also born with Pan-African co-founders, opening up the possibilities of rapid subsequent expansion into other markets across the continent.

“Investment from MEST will help fuel their growth across some of the most exciting markets in Africa in industries ranging from logistics and identity to law and recruitment,” said Fu.

In all, since its inception in 2008, the organisation now has over 300 alumni across the continent.

The seven startups that received funding are:

Sharehouse: A marketplace for on demand storage space set to launch in Kenya.

Nvoicia: Fintech platform for small businesses enables financial liquidity via invoice discounting. The startup will launch in Nigeria.

Truckr: A truck and cargo booking and monitoring platform launching in Ghana.

Jumeni: A field management and payments collection platform launching in Ghana.

Judy: Judy is an artificial intelligence (AI) driven search engine for Commonwealth Case Law, set to launch in Nigeria.

Codeln: The startup is an end-to-end technical recruitment platform launching in Ghana.

Bace: Bace is a client on-boarding application for financial institutions that secures Know-Your-Client (KYC) data via optical character recognition (OCR) and facial recognition technology set to launch in Ghana.

Featured: MEST’s 2018 cohort  (Supplied)