Meltwater School of Entrepreneurship and Technology (MEST), a leader in technology entrepreneurship training and early-to-growth stage startup support, has opened applications for the second edition of the MEST AI Startup Program.
mestois a pan-African software and entrepreneurship training program, seed fund, and incubator that has been training and supporting software entrepreneurs across Africa and contributing to Africa’s innovation economy for the past 18 years.
Artificial intelligence is currently transforming industries at an extremely fast pace, and MEST is positioning African technology entrepreneurs at the forefront of this transformation. Disrupt Africa reported Last year, we talked about how we redesigned our flagship program to prepare Africa’s most promising tech talent to build, launch, and scale world-class AI startups.
The MEST AI Startup Program is a fully-funded, immersive experience in Accra, Ghana that equips Africa’s most promising AI entrepreneurs with the technical, business, and leadership skills to build and scale globally competitive startups.
Through an intensive seven-month training phase, founders receive hands-on guidance, technical guidance, and business coaching from global experts as they develop AI-powered solutions to real-world challenges.
Top ventures then proceed to a four-month incubation period to hone their products, ensure market traction, and strengthen their go-to-market strategies. After the end of incubation, startups will be offered a pre-seed investment of up to USD 100,000 and will have the opportunity to participate in the MEST portfolio.
“AI technology is advancing at an incredible pace, and to meaningfully participate in the global AI economy, you need not just access to the tools, but the ability to build them,” said Emily Fiagbezi, AI Startup Program Director.
“This program aims to help talented African founders develop solutions to real-world challenges and compete globally. We are excited to support the next generation of African AI founders through training with the industry’s most knowledgeable experts from organizations such as OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and Meltwater.”
For 2027 admissions, the program is open to African founders (ages 21-35) based in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Kenya who have software development experience and want to launch their own AI startups. Applications are now being accepted here.
