The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has started receiving applications from francophone Africa and its first stop is Côte d’Ivoire.
Entrepreneurs from Côte d’Ivoire can now apply to be a part of MEST’s Entrepreneurs-In-Training (EITs) program which takes place at their flagship campus in Accra. This good news will be publicly announced this week at the Africa Web Festival taking place from November 30 to December 1 in Abidjan.
This expansion means that MEST is now accepting applications from candidates in five African countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South African). MEST says that this move is a strategic one that will bridge the gap between English-speaking and French-speaking African economies in a bid to expanding the tech ecosystem even further.
MEST’s EIT program is a one-year, fully sponsored training program where participants are taught software development and entrepreneurship skills by MEST’s faculty. Following the EIT, entrepreneurs can go on to launch their own software startup and pitch to receive seed funding from the Meltwater Foundation. Funded teams will then enter the MEST Incubator, where they will receive continued hands-on support as they launch and grow their businesses.
MEST will also be hosting info sessions and recruitment sessions into the next EIT program in Abidjan throughout this week, from November 28 to December 1, in conjunction with the Africa Web Festival. The next EIT session will kick off in August 2017.
MEST hopes to continue expanding – rolling out incubators in key locations on the continent, replicating their operating model and expanding the power of the network so that MEST portfolio companies can quickly scale across Africa once they’ve found an idea that works. Just a few months ago, in August, to be specific, it inducted the first set of entrepreneurs from South Africa into the program. The expansion drive is in full gear and I expect we’ll see a few more African countries being included in the program next year.
Do you have a question or would you like to meet up with MEST in Abidjan? You can register to attend the info session here or apply to join the 2017 EIT program here.
