Incubator takes recruitment to Kenya

folarin okunola

May 21, 2015 9:05 AM

The MEST program give Kenyan entrepreneurs and tech heads the chance to launch their own software company with possible opportunities for seed investment opportunities.

MEST applicants

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has expanded into Kenya for the first time, and is presently recruiting entrepreneurs interested in its one year intensive training program in Accra.

The MEST program give Kenyan entrepreneurs and tech heads the chance to launch their own software company with possible opportunities for seed investment opportunities, Kenya being the second country the incubator has expanded to after Nigeria, outside Ghana.

Applications for the program are open from now until June 1. The program itself starts in August and MEST says it offers hands-on training in software development and entrepreneurship, coupled with free housing, a monthly stipend, meals and a laptop.

MEST also plans on expanding the reach of its incubator program across the continent, with plans for new mentor networks in Nairobi, Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg, in addition to the famous incubator setup in Accra.

“We’ve found the diversification of students in Nigeria and Ghana exponentially increase the business ideas that come from this kind of meeting of the minds. We can only imagine the ripple effect of adding even more perspectives from across the continent,” said Ekua Odoom, managing director of the MEST training programme.

MEST has also changed the duration of its program from one to two years, and it hopes this will allow a broader number of candidates to take part.

“Now our future graduating entrepreneurs-in-training will have the ability to launch and have support for their companies in their home countries, after completing the one-year training programme in Ghana, while also allowing our current companies to more easily access new markets as they grow their businesses,” says Neal Hansch, Managing Director of MEST.

MEST will be entering into strategic corporate partnerships in each market, with partners assisting its programme entry into the new cities.

folarin okunola