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Call for Applications

MEST Express Acceleration Program 2022 for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups – Accra Cohort

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: July 10, 2022

MEST Express is an acceleration program focused on providing investment-readiness support to early and growth-stage startups in Ghana. It is designed to deliver hands-on business interventions that are focused on rapid practical application and observable business outcomes. The program works with founders to ensure their businesses are poised for growth and increased impact. Participating startups have the opportunity to receive equity-free grant funding and get access to investment opportunities through the program.

The next cohort is focused on empowering startups in Ghana that are providing solutions that use technology to drive transformational change to create a more sustainable future for all. MEST is looking for founders who are passionate about, and believe in, a world where everyone can thrive.

Requirements

  • Early to growth stage Ghanaian startups
  • 1-3 years in operation
  • Technology or tech-enabled 
  • $100k or less in funding
  • Proven problem-solution fit
  • Generating revenue
  • Can demonstrate traction
  • Any business model 

Capital

Top-performing startups receive equity-free grant funding for sustained growth

Know-how

Learn & apply strategies focused on rapid application & tangible outcomes

Mentorship

Get mentorship from industry professionals and sector experts

Network access

Get access to our community of experts, investors and founders

Program Focus Areas

  • Funding & Investment readiness
  • Risk Management and Crisis Resilience 
  • Product Management & Positioning
  • Business and Revenue Modelling 
  • Sales & Customer Acquisition
  • Market Research & Competitive Analysis
  • Marketing & Brand awareness
  • Organizational Structuring
  • Accra cohort
    • Applications open – 1st June, 2022
    • Applications close – 10th July, 2022
    • Program begins – 28th July, 2022
    • Program ends – 25th November, 2022

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Express Acceleration Program 2022

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mest-express-program
Call for ApplicationsGhana

MEST Express Acceleration Program for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: July 10th, 2022

MEST Express is an acceleration program focused on providing investment-readiness support to early and growth-stage startups in Ghana. It is designed to deliver hands-on business interventions that are focused on rapid practical application and observable business outcomes. The program works with founders to ensure their businesses are poised for growth and increased impact.

After 20 weeks of hands-on expert-led workshops and mentorship, startups in each cohort have the opportunity to participate in a pitching session where top-performing ventures receive equity-free grant funding.

Benefits:

Capital

Top-performing startups receive equity-free grant funding for sustained growth

Know-how

Learn & apply strategies focused on rapid application & tangible outcomes

Mentorship

Get mentorship from industry professionals and sector experts

Network access

Get access to our community of experts, investors and founders

Businesses MEST Express Support

  • Early to growth stage Ghanaian startups
  • 1-3 years in operation
  • Technology or tech-enabled 
  • $100k or less in funding
  • Proven problem-solution fit
  • Generating revenue
  • Can demonstrate traction
  • Any business model 

Program Focus Areas

  • Funding & Investment readiness
  • Risk Management and Crisis Resilience 
  • Product Management & Positioning
  • Business and Revenue Modelling 
  • Sales & Customer Acquisition
  • Market Research & Competitive Analysis
  • Marketing & Brand awareness
  • Organizational Structuring

Timeline:

  • Kumasi cohort
    • Applications open – 5th April, 2022
    • Applications close – 8th May, 2022
    • Program begins – 6th June, 2022
    • Program ends – 26th August, 2022
  • Accra cohort
    • Applications open – 2nd May, 2022
    • Applications close – 10th July, 2022
    • Program begins – 1st August, 2022
    • Program ends – 17th December, 2022

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Express Acceleration Program

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mest-express-program
Call for ApplicationsGhana

MEST Express Acceleration Program 2022 for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups ($20,000 in equity-free grant funding)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: January 16th, 2022

MEST Express is an acceleration program focused on providing investment-readiness support to early and growth-stage startups in Ghana. It is designed to deliver hands-on business interventions that are focused on rapid practical application and observable business outcomes. The program works with founders to ensure their businesses are poised for growth and increased impact.

After 20 weeks of hands-on expert-led workshops and mentorship, startups in each cohort have the opportunity to participate in a pitching session where top-performing ventures receive equity-free grant funding.


The sessions will be held in person at the MEST campus as well as online. Participants are expected to attend all necessary sessions whether virtual or offline. COVID protocols will be strictly adhered to for the safety of all program participants.

Requirements

  • Early to growth stage Ghanaian startups
  • 1-3 years in operation
  • Technology or tech-enabled 
  • $100k or less in funding
  • Proven problem-solution fit
  • Generating revenue
  • Can demonstrate traction
  • Any business model 

Program Focus Areas

  • Funding & Investment readiness
  • Risk Management and Crisis Resilience 
  • Product Management & Positioning
  • Business and Revenue Modelling 
  • Sales & Customer Acquisition
  • Market Research & Competitive Analysis
  • Marketing & Brand awareness
  • Organizational Structuring

Benefits

Capital

Top-performing startups receive equity-free grant funding for sustained growth

Know-how

Learn & apply strategies focused on rapid application & tangible outcomes

Mentorship

Get mentorship from industry professionals and sector experts

Network access

Get access to our community of experts, investors and founders

Startup Journey

  • Week 0 – Onboarding & Orientation
  • Week 1 – Needs Assessment
  • Week 2 to 4 – Ongoing workshops
  • Week 5 – Mentor Matching
  • Week 6 to 9 – Ongoing workshops
  • Week 10 – Midpoint debriefs
  • Week 11 to 19 – Ongoing workshops
  • Week 20 – Retrospective & Final Exhibition

Application Procedure:

  • Fill out the application form on F6S (startups must create an account)
  • Startups shortlisted for the interview stage
  • Interviews are held with shortlisted startups
  • Offer letters sent to finalists

Timeline:

  • Applications open – 8th November, 2021
  • Applications close – 16th January, 2022
  • Program begins – 21st February, 2022
  • Program ends – 15th June, 2022

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Scale venture acceleration program 2022

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mest-express-program
Call for ApplicationsGhana

MEST Express Acceleration Program for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups ( $20,000 in equity-free grant funding)

by OFA
written by OFA

MEST, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has announced that applications are open for the next two cohorts of the MEST Express Accelerator program.

The 20-week acceleration program, under the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, offers free training, mentorship, resources, and support to participating startups. At the end of the program, startups in each cohort will have the opportunity to participate in a pitching session where top-performing ventures will receive equity-free grant funding.

The two cohorts will have a blend of virtual and in-person sessions. One cohort will take place in Accra, with in-person sessions held at the MEST campus. In an effort to make entrepreneurial training more accessible to startups across Ghana, the other cohort will take place in Tamale at the HOPin Academy.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Express Acceleration Program 2021

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mest-express-program
Call for ApplicationsGhana

MEST Express Acceleration Program 2021 for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline:7th February, 2021.

MEST, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works, is currently accepting applications for the first 2021 cohort of its newly-launched MEST Express accelerator. The program offers free training, mentorship, resources and support to participating startups, as well as the opportunity to receive up to $20,000 in equity-free grant funding.

Launched in September 2020, in response to the impact of COVID-19 on early-stage ventures, MEST Express is a program aimed at technology startups operating in Ghana. The goal of the accelerator is to equip early-stage tech startups with the necessary skills and resources to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, MEST launched three
new programs in 2020 — Pre-MEST, MEST Express, and MEST Scale. The US$3.5M project will
enable MEST to scale its impact and reach exponentially more young people at more touch points
along their entrepreneurial journey in Ghana, and in time, across the continent.

MEST Express will cover a range of business content for the startups but explicitly focus on exploring
business models and product pivots, improving risk and crises resilience, and becoming increasingly
investment ready. Graduating Express startups will be poised for exponential business growth, and
ready to onboard new talent. The program, which is tuition-free, will improve the resilience of MSMEs
operating in Ghana that have been impacted by COVID-19 by enhancing business practices and
technical know-how to ramp up traction, gain market share, boost sales, and create meaningful jobs.
The program is designed to deliver tailored hands-on interventions that are focused on rapid practical
application and tangible business outcomes.

Key Dates
● Applications open – 6th January, 2021
● Applications close – 7th February, 2021
● Program starts – 22nd February, 2021
● Program ends – 16th July, 2021
Application Process
For the 2021 “Alpha” cohort, MEST Express is looking to recruit and admit pre-seed to seed stage
startups, currently operational in Ghana, that are generating revenue, can demonstrate traction, and
have been in operation for between 1-3 years. Founders should be able to communicate clear value
propositions and customer segmentation regarding their businesses. While this cohort is industry
agnostic and open to startups in any sector, businesses must at least be digital or tech-enabled.
Startups that meet these requirements, regardless of their business model or end-customers, are
encouraged to apply.
Startups that wish to apply for the program are to complete the following steps:
● Create an F6S account
● Apply using the official application form on F6S
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview after which final candidates will be sent an
offer letter to join the program. All participating companies admitted to the program are selected by a
team of industry experts in the Ghanaian and wider African tech ecosystem.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Express Acceleration Program 2021

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mest-express-program
Call for ApplicationsGhana

MEST Express Acceleration Program 2020 for early & growth stage Ghanaian tech startups

by OFA
written by OFA

MEST Express is an acceleration program targeted at early and growth stage Ghanaian tech startups in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works initiative. The goal is to equip MEST Express startups to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, build resiliency, increase business acumen and technical know-how to ramp up traction, gain market share, boost sales, and create meaningful jobs. The program is designed to deliver tailored hands-on interventions that are focused on rapid practical application and observable business outcomes. Graduating Express startups will be poised for exponential business growth, and ready to onboard new talent.

Program Overview

MEST Express is a 10-week intensive hands-on acceleration program geared at early and growth stage startups. The curriculum focuses on interactive workshops tailored to the specific needs of the cohort and practical outcome-based sprints at the end of which participants will have ramped up capacity in that business aspect with traction to back it up. Each sprint will end in a demo day attended by experts and ecosystem partners where participants give a detailed account of their successes and challenges so far and receive critical feedback to take them to the next level. The curriculum is designed to focus on the following key business areas:

• Customer Acquisition
• Marketing & Brand Awareness
• Product Baselining & Optimisation
• Risk Management & Crisis Resilience
• Market Research & Positioning
• Org Structuring & Recruitment

Candidate Profile

1. Pre-seed or seed-stage (have raised $100k total or less cumulatively since inception)
2. Currently generating revenue
3. Can demonstrate traction
4. Has been in operation for 1-3 years
5. Tech-enabled (software company)
6. Industry agnostic
7. Any business model (B2B, B2C, B2B2C, B2G, etc.) 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the MEST Express Acceleration Program 2020

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