Nigerian-based online sports company, AMPZ has been shortlisted among five promising startups across Africa to compete for a $50,000 equity investment, a place in the MEST Africa incubator of their choice and global mentorship to help their company scale.
The winners will also pitch on a global stage in the finals at the fourth MEST Africa Summit scheduled to hold in Nairobi, Kenya, June 10-12.
In a statement BusinessDay received, the organisers of the competition, MEST disclosed that the five startups were selected from nearly 1000 applicants from across the continent. The list was brought down to ten. From February 27 to 28, ten finalists were chosen to pitch at the regional finals in five cities including Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town and Abidjan.
“The winning startups stood out as a result of their impressive revenue growth and potential for expansion,” Aaron Fu, managing director MEST said in the statement. “There have been a growing number of companies who have managed to scale in a variety of sectors; so this investment will be vital in aiding these companies to join this expanding group.”
The five finalists include AMPZ.TV (Nigeria), data insights company OZE (Ghana); real-time cyber security platform Snode Technologies (South Africa); fintech company, WayaWaya (Kenya); and agritech company Seekewa (Cote d’Ivoire).
Judges at the regional finals in Nigeria had included industry leaders such as Kola Aina, founding partner at Ventures Platform and Soromfe Uzomah, head of Strategic Partnerships (Africa Initiatives – 4Afrika) a Microsoft.
AMPZ.TV the winning startup leverages technology as a tool to tackle issues around access to information and exploitation in African sports. The self-styled LinkedIn for Sports in Africa, provides sports talents on the continent access to verified information on opportunities and exposing them to scouts and agents across the world.
MEST also disclosed that anticipation for the 2019 summit in Nairobi has grown following last year’s success. The summit is expected to attract investors, corporate executives and key members of the African technology ecosystem.
The winner of the finals will be the second company to join MEST Africa’s portfolio without going through the MEST Training Program. The winner will also be joining the 2018 winner, Nigeria’s smart accounting platform Accounteer, which has since gone on to expand into Kenya and raised additional funding.
