See the 20 Semi-finalists for the MEST Africa Challenge 2025

Twenty groundbreaking startups have been unveiled as semi-finalists in the 2025 MEST Africa Challenge (MAC), an announcement made by MEST Africa in collaboration with Absa. The competition spotlights some of Africa’s most promising ventures in FinTech and high-value chain innovation.

Now in its seventh year, the MEST Africa Challenge embraces the theme “You Build, We Scale”, encouraging visionary founders to transform their bold ideas into scalable financial technologies across Absa’s eight key markets: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zambia.

These selected startups are tackling the continent’s most critical financial challenges — from next-generation payment systems and AI-powered credit tools to agri-fintech and digital literacy solutions.

According to Ashwin Ravichandran, Portfolio Advisor at MEST Africa and MAC Lead, “Each founder in this year’s competition is charting a new course for financial innovation in Africa. Their solutions combine technology and empathy, offering real answers to real challenges within their communities. Through MAC, we’re connecting them to investors, mentors, and international networks that can help them scale.”

As the strategic partner for the 2025 edition, Absa continues to drive digital innovation and financial inclusion across Africa. This partnership reflects a shared vision of empowering entrepreneurs to redefine how individuals and businesses access finance.

Tawanda Chatikobo, Head of Digital for Absa Regional Operations (ARO), Retail and Business Banking, said, “Congratulations to the top 20 finalists and all the talented applicants. The quality of submissions this year demonstrates Africa’s incredible depth of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. These startups are not just solving problems; they’re building pathways for inclusive growth. Our partnership with MEST and our active role in MAC 2025 reaffirm Absa’s commitment to collaboration and to making banking simpler, more accessible, and more relevant for every customer.”

From hundreds of applications, twenty standout startups have advanced to the semi-finals of the MEST Africa Challenge 2025:

Botswana

• mystock.africa – A retail investment platform offering access to stocks, ETFs, and alternative assets.

Ghana

• Brydge – Simplifying cross-border trade for African businesses through a seamless supply chain platform.
• Kutana Technologies Limited – A multi-currency B2B payments platform using stablecoins and AI-driven credit systems.

Kenya

• Logistify AI – Helping SMEs and cooperatives optimize procurement and supply chains through AI.
• Farmsky Ventures – Providing digital lending and crop insurance to enhance smallholder farmers’ productivity.
• Investa Farm – An agri-fintech company offering voucher-backed loans for climate-resilient farming inputs.

Mauritius

• Black Swan – Leveraging AI and alternative data to create credit profiles for Africa’s unbanked population.

Mozambique

• Simulador Bancário – A digital platform that simplifies financial planning and loan simulations.

Uganda

• Paytota – A unified gateway simplifying Africa’s fragmented digital payments space.
• Xzerra – A biometric payment platform enabling cashless, fingerprint-based transactions in schools.
• Kanzu Finance Limited – Providing digital banking tools for SACCOs, VSLAs, and microfinance institutions.
• Axiom Zorn – Enabling access to finance and markets for smallholder farmers through data-driven innovation.
• Credify Africa, Inc – Bridging Africa’s SME finance gap through trade finance and logistics solutions.
• eMaisha Pay – A payments platform promoting inclusion for agro-traders and small enterprises.

Zambia

• Ebusaka Green Technology Limited – Turning waste into value through a FinTech-powered recycling and payment system.
• KreativBox Technology – Offering digital, salary-backed loans for civil servants.
• Mighty Finance Solution Inc – Providing embedded loan products for SMEs and women entrepreneurs.
• Devdraft Ai – Facilitating cross-border payments for freelancers and businesses using stablecoin wallets.
• Homer Price Agency Solutions Limited – A nationwide digital banking provider operating over 550 agents.

Seychelles

• Fusepay – A licensed Payment Service Provider creating digital finance solutions for frontier markets.

The twenty semi-finalists will present their pitches virtually during the week of October 27, 2025, and the top ten startups will advance to the Final Demo Day in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 26, 2025. The overall winner will receive USD $50,000 in equity investment, along with access to MEST Africa’s extensive global network of mentors, partners, and investors — and the chance to explore pilot programs with Absa’s business divisions.

Tamu Dutuma, Head of Strategy and Transformation for ARO Technology, remarked, “This challenge continues to surface ideas that align with Africa’s evolving digital landscape. Many of these innovations could accelerate the continent’s digital transformation while unlocking new value for customers.”

Since 2008, MEST Africa has trained and supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs and invested in more than 90 startups. The MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) remains its flagship pan-African competition, created to identify, support, and scale promising technology ventures across the continent. For more information on MAC 2025, visit: https://apo-opa.co/48ZEm9t.