Application is opened to young entrepreneurs who want to build tech companies to apply to the MEST Training program Class of 2023. MEST offers 12-month graduate-level training to aspiring entrepreneurs across the African continent. The entrepreneurial training program in business, communications, and software development include extensive hands-on project work, culminating in a final pitch and the chance to receive seed investment and grow businesses.
The successful world-class training program is run with the help of an internationally recognized faculty. Our teaching fellows hail from some of the best universities around the world like Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, etc. We also offer our entrepreneurs-in-training (EITs) the opportunity to be mentored by real-life Entrepreneurs, CEOs and other executives from all over the world. Guest lectures have been executives of Uber, Facebook, Safaricom, Samsung, Interswitch, and many more.
Eligibility Criteria
- A degree from a top university or Technical College or equivalent experience with at least two (2) years corporate and startup experience (preferred)
- Deep skills in either communications, business or software development (from the onset or acquired during the Pre-Learning stage)
- Young persons crazy about tech and entrepreneurship, and how to use technology to achieve business results
- Should be ready to commit to a full residential program for a whole year
- Disciplined, motivated self-starter who can work and deliver on assignments and projects – demonstrate this by completing the required Pre-Learning courses and MEST’s rigorous recruitment process
- An entrepreneurial spirit and strong desire to start a company
- Ability to communicate candidly and persuasively
- Ability to work well in teams, proven academic or professional excellence
- Demonstrated leadership abilities
- Confident and independent thinking
- Excellent people skills
For more fully-funded international scholarships and other Opportunities Join Us On Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp Group, Signal
Important Dates
- Applications open: 4th February, 2022
- Applications close: 20th April, 2022
NB: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Thus, if you complete your application by the 3rd of April, you will receive status on your application by 8th April, 2022.
- Program starts: August 2022
Curriculum Overview
- Building Sustainable Teams
- Market Research
- Product Development and Innovation
- Revenue and Business Modeling
- Branding and Communications
- Marketing and Growth Hacking
- Financial Management and Investments
- Legal and Regulatory Compliance
- Metrics and Measurements
- Sales and Traction (achieving product/market fit)
- Preparing for investments
Application steps
Step 1. Complete the two pre-learning courses:
Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner
Note: On completion of this course on the IBM Digital Nation Africa portal, you will be guided to create an account on youracclaim.com. Once this is done, the badge earned from the course will be automatically posted on to Acclaim. You can grab your profile link by clicking on the profile icon and selecting ‘view my profile’.
