BEVERLY HILLS, February 03, (THEWILL) – African Technology Foundation (ATF) and Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) have announced an innovative partnership that teams the regional strengths of each company to unlock opportunities that foster the development of new African technologies and that catalyze the creation of the next generation of African technology entrepreneurs.
The landmark partnership aims to redefine the future of African technology entrepreneurs, address key sectorial challenges and spark a new wave of investments and innovation in African-led technology enterprises.
Specifically the partnership will:
Foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the parties to develop their respective and collective business interests in the internationalisation of African technologies;
Develop global opportunities including the establishment of partners for the investment and mentoring of aspiring African entrepreneurs;
Identify and introduce opportunities to leverage existing partnerships and networks to broaden footprints in Pan-African technology ecosystems and advance the collective mission.
“There are quite a number of synergies between our organisations that make this partnership rather timely. Central to this theme is the bridging of knowledge gaps for aspiring African entrepreneurs that are either starting new ventures or scaling up their existing operations,” said Stephen Ozoigbo, Founder and CEO, African Technology Foundation.
“Africa’s future will be hugely reliant on the rapid growth of knowledge economies and the entrepreneurial endeavors of a youthful population driven by stage agnostic technologies. We are delighted to be teaming with MEST, whose training program has empowered hundreds of entrepreneurs in West Africa and provided a unique and globally recognised platform for driving technology based investments to the region.”
The ATF – MEST partnership swells the current wave of excitement digital entrepreneurship across the continent and services to promote and incentivize foreign investment in Africa’s technology sector. With both organisations having a presence in Silicon Valley, it is anticipated that this collaboration will allow ATF and MEST to work with in-country partners to select and evaluate suitable technology related opportunities and support scholarship and mentorship activities for African entrepreneurs.
“African Technology Foundation has done a superior job at bridging the gap and connecting the dots between innovators in Africa and tech forces in Silicon Valley and beyond,” says Neal Hansch, Managing Director, MEST Incubator. “We strongly believe this partnership with ATF will benefit our trainees and incubated companies at MEST by furthering their reach and visibility. We’re excited to work together for years to come and collaborate for the benefit of increased entrepreneurship and recognition of the skilled developers and tech talent across the continent.”
The African Technology Foundation exists to globalise African technologies and introduce global technologies to the African ecosystem. To achieve this, we support a broad range of initiatives around key economic sectors, and we are committed to providing African technology startups and enterprises with the necessary knowledge and resources that empower them to raise the economic profiles of their communities, municipalities and countries.
The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and the MEST Incubator provide training, investment and incubation to aspiring tech entrepreneurs, with the goal of creating globally successful companies that create wealth and jobs locally in Africa. Based in Accra, Ghana, MEST has graduated over 200 students in the tech training program and invested in over 20 earlystage startups, with a portfolio ranging from eCommerce to health IT.
