- Title: Ghana's Swoove says set to deliver growth after startup contest
- Date: 5th December 2022
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MELISSA NSIAH, MEST'S DIRECTOR OF PORTOLIO, SAYING: "The MEST Africa Challenge really does look at the lifelong journey of the company. So aside from actually winning the prize, what they really win is a lifelong relationship between an institution and that organization, and a promise to help them scale and walk with them along the journey to growing their business. Of course, there's also the conversation of just personal development, which stops right from the top 10. There are resources we provide that allow for the development of the actual leaders behind the companies, because we really believe here at MEST that to really build a great company that can stand the test of time, you really need leaders behind it who really are able to encourage and inspire and lay down an institution within those businesses." VARIOUS OF MEST AFRICA CHALLENGE FINALISTS TALKING WITH EACH OTHER TEXT ON BACK OF TABIRI'S SHIRT READING (English) "TRANSFORMING E-COMMERCE LOGISTICS IN AFRICA" (SOUNDBITE) (English) KWAKU TABIRI, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SWOOVE, SAYING: "We are going to see a few key ideas that are going to blossom and build up probably into big unicorns. The continent still doesn't have a lot of its problems solved. We're going to see a lot of startups coming up that are actually going to solve these problems, and now they have the money to do it. The future is very exciting for the continent." VARIOUS OF MEST ENTREPRENEUR TEAMS TALKING OUTSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MELISSA NSIAH, MEST'S DIRECTOR OF PORTOLIO, SAYING: "When you find an entrepreneur here who has been able to launch a business, grow that business, rally up interest, finance, resources, and talent around that, it's a huge feat simply because it's harder to find those things here. The analogy I would use is walking into a gold store and buying a nice bracelet versus having to actually mine for the gold, refine the gold, design the gold before you actually go, and present it to the customer. And that's typically the situation here on the ground." STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS SEATED BEHIND COMPUTERS DURING CODING CLASS POSTER ON WALL READS (English) "EXPERIMENT. FAIL. LEARN. REPEAT." VARIOUS OF CODING INSTRUCTOR ADDRESSING STUDENTS STUDENT TYPING STUDENT HELPING OTHER STUDENT
- Embargoed: 19th December 2022 10:00
- Keywords: africa business central africa companies east africa emerging markets general ghana investing kenya logistics nigeria senegal south africa southern africa startups technology west africa
- Location: ACCRA, GHANA
- City: ACCRA, GHANA
- Country: Ghana
- Topics: Africa,Information Technologies / Computer Sciences,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA005432604122022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:As a pair of motorcyclists from Ghanaian startup Swoove zipped along Accra's back streets with deliveries last week, a team of software engineers tracked their progress on screens.
Swoove's founders say because it started out during tough times, the firm is well-placed to weather the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of conflict in Ukraine.
"Businesses who can survive within this particular time frame will do even better when times get better," Kwaku Tabiri said of Swoove, which makes more than 5,000 deliveries per week.
Swoove was one of five finalists from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants in last week's annual MEST Africa Challenge, which offers a grand prize of $50,000 in funding.
It was the first in-person competition at the Silicon Valley-style Accra campus of the Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training program and seed fund since the coronavirus pandemic forced it online in 2020.
This year's finalists developed their businesses in a downturn that has disproportionately affected emerging markets, making their journey to success much harder, MEST's portfolio director Melissa Nsiah said.
"It's like walking into a gold store and buying a nice bracelet, versus having to actually mine and refine the gold and design the piece before you can present it to the customer," Nsiah said. "That's a huge feat."
The competition was won by Senegalese e-commerce platform Kwely, which focuses on African-made products. All five finalists will receive coaching from MEST throughout the life of the companies.
Although Swoove did not win, Tabiri took comfort in the outlook for African innovation.
"We're going to see a lot of startups coming up that are actually going to solve our problems, and now they have the money to do it," he said.
(Production: Cooper Inveen) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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