Pan-African entrepreneurial training programme, seed fund, and incubator the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has announced the launch of two new incubator spaces in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town, South Africa, as the programme continues to expand its presence across the continent.
The MEST spaces will join the flagship hub headquartered in Accra, Ghana, as part of a growing Pan-African network of MEST incubators which has also seen the company partner Mettā Nairobi to offer incubator space to Kenya-based MEST alumni.
The new incubators in Lagos and Cape Town will act as an extension of the Accra community, offering entrepreneurs the same support, skilled staff, mentorship, network and resources, as well as a number of curated events in an effort to bring together the African tech community. The spaces will also offer co-working.
MEST’s Lagos incubator opens its doors tomorrow, led by general manager Neku Atawodi-Edun and located at 19b Adeyemi Lawson, Ikoyi.
“With its nine-year track record in Ghana, we are glad to finally see MEST expand their footprint into Nigeria,” said Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment Tunde Durosinmi-Etti.
“This new incubator in Nigeria’s economic centre, Lagos, is a strategic move towards partnering with the state government in changing the future economy of the state through its support for new businesses, empowering millennials and providing more jobs.”
The MEST Incubator Cape Town will launch in the former Cape Town Garage, located in the Woodstock Exchange on Albert Road, taking over the space and welcoming the existing community. The official launch is on Thursday, November 23.
“We’re extremely excited to enter the Nigerian and South African markets with the launch of our new incubator spaces. Lagos and Cape Town are home to an enormous amount of ambitious tech talent with massive potential. We also look forward to welcoming companies from the larger local community to join our pan-African network of like-minded entrepreneurs,” said MEST managing director Aaron Fu.
