MEST Express Acceleration Program for Ghanaians

Growth and productivity is the goal of every business, especially startups. With support from the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works initiative, Mest Express is offering an acceleration program to startups in Ghana.

Eligible startups should apply now for the 2022 MEST Express Acceleration Program for Ghanaians.

The acceleration program by MEST Express is a 10-week intensive hands-on acceleration program. This is majorly for tech entrepreneurs and startups. Over 330 young African entrepreneurs and 60 startups across the continent have benefitted from this program. You too can.

The acceleration program focuses on key skills development, product launch, sales and marketing, investment readiness, and growth strategy. In addition, the selected startups will receive seed funding to boost their business. Two cohorts of young startups are trained annually, targeting 10-15 startups per cohort.

This post gives you all the information you need to know about the MEST Express Acceleration Program for Ghanaians. Also, you will get to know its programs and application process. So, relax, read, and of course, apply.

What Is MEST Express?

MEST is a technology entrepreneur training program founded in Ghana in 2008. This is mainly aimed at helping Ghanaian startups to grow through internal seed fund.

The acceleration program by MEST Express provides critical skills training and also funding. In addition, the program offers support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs.

In fact, MEST express doesn’t only train people but also shapes them into the next generation of software entrepreneurs. Thus, the future of software development is secured.

The MEST express tech hub is not only located in Accra, Ghana. Also, you can locate the tech hubs in Lagos, Cape Town, and Nairobi.

Objectives of MEST Express acceleration program

At the end of the acceleration program, every MEST Express startup should be able to:

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build resiliency
gain market share
boost sales
increase business acumen

After achieving this, graduating MEST Express startups will be sure of business growth.

MEST Express acceleration program requirements

Every intending MEST Express startup/entrepreneur is expected to:

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have an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong desire to start a tech-enabled company.
be in the early or growth stage of business.
have made $100,000 or less since the birth of the startup.
currently be generating revenue, instead of just remaining stagnant financially.
can demonstrate traction
has been in operation for 1-3 years
Any business model (B2B, B2C, B2B2C, B2G, etc.)

What are the benefits of MEST Express?

The MEST program is fully funded, including free tuition, room and board, 3 meals per day, and a small monthly stipend.

How can I benefit from the MEST Express acceleration program?

Thousands of startups and entrepreneurs apply for the MEST Express acceleration program annually.

Being eligible doesn’t guarantee that you will be among the chosen entrepreneurs/startup. These attributes below will help you stand out from other applicants.

Ability to communicate candidly and persuasively
Ability to work well in teams
Proven academic excellence
Demonstrated leadership abilities
Ability to meet goals and deadlines
Demonstrated personal drive, stamina, and self-motivation
Confidence and independent thinking
Excellent people skills

Also, successful applicants must have the following:

Passion: A deep passion for starting a software company. Truly, not everyone has the passion to start a software company. This is because many people find it to be brain-tasking.

So, if you must apply for this program, then, you should have the zeal to start a tech-enabled company.
Experience: Before you apply to be a recipient of this program, you should have entrepreneurial or corporate work experience.

This shows that you understand what teamwork is, and you also have great people skills.

Education: Academic performance is a key point to consider. In fact, this is an avenue to prove your academic excellence.

Eligible Nationality

The NITDA Scholarship Scheme is only available for students who are citizens and residents of Nigeria.

Program Overview

The programs run through a period of 10 weeks. This training is done in cohorts. Each cohort has an average of 10-15 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:

Deadline

The MEST Express acceleration program for Ghanaians is currently ongoing.

For more information on the scholarship and how to apply, click here