Grace Ashiru
Six impact-driven Ghanaian entrepreneurs have been selected to participate in the first-ever sustainability-focused cohort of the MEST Express accelerator. As part of their participation, each of these startups will receive a grant of $5,000 in addition to various other types of support.
MEST Express is one of three programs that MEST runs with the help of the Mastercard Foundation. The other two are Pre-MEST and MEST Scale. Since its debut in September 2020, the MEST Express program has helped accelerate the launch of eighty new businesses in Ghana and distributed grant funding with a combined value of over USD 1000000.
Since it started working with these startups, it has created more than 200 jobs.
The most recent class is geared toward enhancing the capabilities of Ghanaian companies that provide technologically-based solutions to catalyze revolutionary change and construct a more sustainable future for all.
At the program’s start, a thorough needs assessment was done on the six chosen startups to determine where the main focus should be. They will now work with experts in their field to develop custom solutions to their needs and problems.
Some of the companies that will get funding are the e-commerce and courier platform Shaq Express, the farmer finance platform Fluid Finance, the baby and maternity e-commerce service Tiny Reusers, the health consulting platform Digital Health Access, the shea production resource provider Sommalife, and the agro e-commerce service Africa Goodnest.
The 20-week accelerator program gives free training, coaching, resources, and support to the businesses that take part. The goal is to give early-stage enterprises the tools and resources they need to grow faster.
Also, each startup was given a grant of USD 5,000.
