Meet the 20 fintech startups selected for MEST Africa Challenge 2025 semifinals

MEST Africa has announced that twenty fintech startups have been named semi-finalists in the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025. The startups will now be allowed to showcase their ideas that proffer solutions to financial constraints across Africa.

In a statement released on Wednesday, as seen by Technext, MEST Africa, in partnership with Absa, announced that the 7th edition, themed “You Build, We Scale,” aims to inspire fintech founders to transform innovation into action. The project seeks to highlight Africa’s most promising ventures in fintech and other high-value chain solutions.

The MEST Africa challenge received entries across Absa’s eight priority markets: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zambia. Absa Group Limited is a major pan-African bank based in South Africa with a presence in 10 African countries, formerly a part of Barclays Africa. 

Reacting to the development, Ashwin Ravichandran, Portfolio Advisor of MEST Africa, said that every twenty founders represents a unique path toward reimagining how finance works for Africans. He noted that all 20 startups are not only solving real challenges but building the foundation for inclusive growth and lasting impact.

“Their ideas pair technology with empathy, proving that lasting change comes from solving real problems within their own communities. We’re proud to provide a platform that connects them with investors, mentors, and global opportunities,” he added. 

MEST Africa noted that the selected ventures are addressing some of Africa’s most pressing financial innovation needs. The solutions span next-generation payments, smart credit solutions, cross-border trade, agri-fintech, and digital financial literacy.

The startups were selected from a group of those competing at the first stage. In that stage, startups made an online application including a 3-minute video pitch.

The 20 semi-finalists will pitch virtually during the week of October 27, 2025. Only the top 10 startups will advance to the final demo day in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 26, 2025. 

The overall winner will receive $50,000 in equity investment, access to MEST Africa’s global network of mentors, partners, and investors, and the opportunity to explore pilot pathways with Absa’s business units.

Since 2008, the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Africa has trained and supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs and invested in 90+ startups. The MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) is its flagship pan-African pitch competition designed to identify, support, and scale high-potential technology ventures.

Meet the semifinalists

The twenty semifinalists cut across 7 African countries. Kenya (3), Zambia (5), Botswana (1), Ghana (2), Mauritius (1), Mozambique (1), Uganda (6), and Seychelles (1).

Kenya

1. Logistify AI – Uses AI-powered software to automate and improve efficiency in the supply chain and logistics industry.

2. Farmsky Ventures – A digital lending and crop insurance platform that provides a last-mile lending platform for Banks and MFIs to easily lend to farmers or agribusinesses that buy or sell directly to farmers.

3. Investa Farm – An Agri-FinTech platform offering voucher-backed loans for climate-resilient farm inputs. It empowers farmers by providing easy access to essential financial services.

Also Read: 20 Nigerian startups selected for MTN Nigeria Cloud Accelerator Programme 2025.

Zambia

4. Ebusaka Green Technology Limited – A FinTech-powered waste-to-value platform digitising payments and recycling incentives. Ebusaka uses a mobile and cloud-based platform to connect users, waste collectors, and recycling facilities.

5. KreativBox Technology – A digital lending company that offers salary-backed loans to civil servants.

6. Mighty Finance Solution Inc – Provides embedded digital loans to SMEs and women entrepreneurs to make borrowing effortless. 

7. Devdraft Ai – A cross-border payments platform for freelancers and businesses using stablecoin wallets.

8. Homer Price Agency Solutions Limited – A digital banking provider operating 550+ agents nationwide. It also deploys its agent baking in the country. 

Botswana

9. mystock.africa – A retail investing platform giving Africans access to stocks, ETFs, and alternative assets

Ghana

10. Brydge – A supply chain platform simplifying cross-border trade for African businesses. It also focuses on facilitating intra-African trade through its B2B payment and B2B trading platform.

11. Kutana Technologies Limited – A fintech company that focuses on facilitating cross-border business-to-business (B2B) trade for African SMEs. 

Mauritius

12. Black Swan – Uses AI and alternative data to build credit scores for Africa’s unbanked population.

Mozambique

13. Simulador Bancário – A digital platform simplifying financial planning and loan simulations.

Uganda

14. Paytota – A unified payment gateway simplifying Africa’s fragmented digital payments ecosystem.

15. Xzerra – A biometric payment system enabling cashless, fingerprint-based transactions in schools.

16. Kanzu Finance Limited – A digital banking solution for Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations, Village Savings and Loan Associations, and microfinance institutions.

17. Axiom Zorn – A data innovation company enabling access to finance and markets for smallholder farmers.

18. Credify Africa, Inc – A fintech that simplifies cross-border trade by providing tailored financing, payments and logistics solutions, ensuring efficient imports and reducing risk.

19. eMaisha Pay – A digital payments platform for agro-traders and small businesses, driving financial inclusion

Seychelles

20. Fusepay – A licensed Payment Service Provider creating a digital finance hub for frontier markets.

Also Read: Meet the tech leaders selected by NITDA to drive Nigeria’s digital innovation agenda for the next 2 years.

MEST Africa Challenge 2025: how the semi-final and final works

• The top 20 applicants will compete in a virtual semi-finals pitch competition.
• The panel will select the top 10 fintech startups.
• The top 10 will compete at the grand finale and Demo Day in Cape Town, South Africa.
• One overall winner

Finalists pitch live to an audience of top investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders, with standout benefits including the chance to win $50,000 in equity. The winner also gains entry into the prestigious MEST Africa Portfolio, pilot commercial solutions with Absa business units, and unlocks exclusive partner prizes.