The MEST Africa Challenge 2025 for Early-Stage Tech Startups

The MEST Africa Challenge 2025 is led by MEST Africa and powered by Absa. MAC offers a powerful platform to access equity funding, build strategic networks, and gain global visibility.

Thematic Areas

• Smart Credit & Alt-Lending
  • Instant credit decisions for BNPL, cards, micro-loans.
  • Agri & startup loan engines using non-traditional data.
  • MSME scoring built on telco, utility & POS signals.
  • Plug-and-play credit-risk cover via insurtech APIs.
• Fraud & Trust Tech
  • AI that spots deepfakes and synthetic IDs in real time.
  • Biometric ID&V layers that slash digital fraud.
  • Always-on monitoring that learns and adapts.
• Personalised Money OS
  • Hyper-tailored offers driven by first-party analytics.
  • Multi-bank personal finance managers that ‘just work’.
  • Open-banking checkout APIs & curated API hubs.
• Offline-Friendly Rails
  • Auto reconciliation & payouts for cash-heavy billers (gov, utilities).
  • WhatsApp-first banking for youth & gig workers.
  • “Ecosystem banking” playbooks for schools, mines, markets.
• Next-Gen Payments & Wallets
  • Embedded checkout for e-commerce and gig platforms.
  • Proxy-Pay P2P, shared wallets, easy app plugins.
  • Social gifting, group pots and susu via bank-linked wallets.
• Investment Gateways
  • Marketplaces for both traditional and alternative assets.
  • Diaspora-powered SME crowdfunding & remittances.
  • Digital group saving / investment clubs (SACCO 2.0).
• Agri-Tech Engines
  • IoT-guided smart farming with sensors and drones.
  • Farmer networks for learning, inputs, secondments.
  • Robust profiling tools that plug farmers into finance and markets.
• Financial Literacy Re-imagined
  • Gamified money lessons for women & youth.
  • USSD/mobile micro-courses co-built with ed-tech partners.
• Omnichannel CX & Super-Apps
  • One front door to multiple banks and fintechs.
  • Fintech aggregation inside super-apps.
  • “One-tap onboard” journeys that feel Uber-easy.
• Trade & Cross-Border Boosters
  • End-to-end SME trade portals—forex, customs, finance.
  • Pan-African payment and logistics bridges for commerce.
• Product-Landing Platforms
  • White-label or modular marketplaces that let Absa (and partners) launch new products to internal & external users in weeks, not months.
  • Built-in compliance, KYC/AML, and analytics dashboards.
  • Being able to host Absa’s offers out-of-the-box is a clear edge.
• Value-Add Service Layers
  • Third-party solutions—insurance add-ons, telco bundles, loyalty perks—delivered through open APIs.
  • “Drop-in” integrations that enrich Absa’s existing channels and unlock fresh fee lines.
  • Services independent of core banking rails yet tightly linked to customer value.
• Integration Orchestrators
  • Middleware or iPaaS players that stitch multiple partner services into a single API for Absa apps.
  • Pre-built connectors to telcos, utilities, gov platforms, and fintech data sources.
  • One-touch onboarding for new partners, slashing time-to-market for features.
• Micro & On-Demand Insurtech
  • Pay-as-you-use cover.
  • Usage-based pricing.
  • Instant AI-driven claims.

Why MAC 2025?

• A Strategic Alliance with Absa
  • For the 2025 edition, MEST Africa has partnered with Absa to align the Challenge with the bank’s innovation priorities. MAC 2025 therefore invites early-stage startups in fintech and other high-value, value-chain solutions that already operate in at least one of Absa’s priority markets—Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, or Ghana.
• From Region-first to Sector-first
  • MAC 2024 spotlighted West African Agritech. In 2025, the lens widens to encompass any African market where Absa operates, but narrows to focus on the fintech and other high-value, value-chain solutions poised to deepen financial inclusion and unlock new revenue streams across the continent.

Key Benefits

• Win $50,000
  • Stand the chance of winning $50,000 in equity investment
• Get Backed by MEST
  • A chance to join the MEST Portfolio
• Pilot Solution with Absa Business Units
  • Commercial pilot pathway with Absa business units for qualified solutions
• Partner Prizes
  • Win prizes and perks from sponsoring partners

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be an early-stage technology startup
• Must be a fintech, insuretech or operating in similar value chains
• Must offer at least one of the following solutions  – Digital payments, Financial inclusion, Insurance innovation and or value chain financing
• Must be operating in at least one of the following key markets: Botswana, Uganda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Ghana.
• Monthly Recurring Revenue: A minimum of $5k
• Funding raised: Cumulative $1M or less
• Years in existence: 3 years and below
• Traction: At least 6 months of recurring revenue
• Founding team: At least 2 founding team members

For more information, visit MEST Africa.