Online Sports Community AMPZ Wins MEST Africa Regional Finals, to Compete in the Grand Finals in Nairobi

Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Africa, has announced regional winners for its MEST Africa Challenge. Nigeria’s AMPZ.tv emerged winner winner of the Lagos regional finals after a grueling pitching session involving nine other startups.

AMPZ will join four other regional winners in Nairobi Kenya where they will pitch their products and ideas before hundreds of global investors at the MEST Africa Summit in June 2019. The winner gets the grand prize of $50,000.

.@MESTAfrica and Microsoft announced regional winners in annual Pan-African startup pitch competition: https://t.co/09Fnjsacv1 pic.twitter.com/sbd0vhsIGg

— VC4A (@VC4Africa) March 5, 2019

Out of about 1000 applicants from across the continent, 10 finalists were chosen to pitch at the regional finals. One winner is eventually selected from each region.

The winners were chosen after regional pitch competitions in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa last week having successfully built solutions solving real problems and gaining traction in their home markets. 

Mest prove that a new generation of young, successful global software entrepreneurs can originate in Africa.

— Simon (@simon_lgp) March 5, 2019

These startups include:

• AMPZ.tv (Nigeria): An online sports community connecting sports talents to the right audience and opportunities. The startup shares sports content on the go for enthusiasts and also aid scouts/agents to identify and engage with top talents from all corners of the continent with just a tap.

Hey Champs, want to take a guess for #TuesdayTrivia?

Let's help – we won the #MESTAfricaChallenge Regional Finals in Lagos. #AMPZ is now set to represent Nigeria at the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge in Nairobi.

Find out more about our success here – https://t.co/q9WiuKAawG pic.twitter.com/IGreTQhM2g

— AMPZ (@ampzsports) March 5, 2019

• Oze (Ghana): A data insights startup that helps businesses make data-driven financial decisions and achieve growth to improve performance.
• Snode Technologies (South Africa): A cybersecurity startup that provides real-time security for individuals and businesses.
• WayaWaya (Kenya): A fintech startup that ensures seamless and instant international funds transfers for individuals and businesses in Africa.
• Seekewa (Cote d’Ivoire): a financing platform that allows Internet users and companies from all over the world to support small agricultural projects in Africa through its ingenious voucher system.

The winner of the grand final in Nairobi will receive up to $50,000 in equity investment as well as a place in one of MEST incubators for mentorship to help their company scale.

Also the winner will be the 2nd company to join MEST Africa’s portfolio without going through the MEST Entrepreneurs-in-Training Program. They will join last year’s winner, Nigeria’s smart accounting platform Accounteer.