Interswitch Partners MEST to Support IT Entrepreneurs

Interswitch, a leading pan-African integrated payment processing and transaction switching company, has partnered with Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) to develop and extend the acclaimed MEST training programme.

The new partnership, called ‘Interswitch MEST’, will directly impact and benefit Nigeria’s IT entrepreneurs and its rapidly growing domestic ICT industry.

The fundamental goal of the Interswitch MESTpartnership is to ensure the training, mentoring and supporting of young Africans at the MEST campus in Accra, Ghana.

This new initiative enacts the intentions of the federal Ministry of Communication Technology (FMCT) to create jobs that power the development of world-class software companies in Nigeria.

The Interswitch MEST partnership will take several forms. First, the extension of the MEST programme to Nigerian students (2014 marks the first year that students outside of Ghana will be considered).

The first year will comprise Nigerian and Ghanaian students working side-by-side in the MEST Accra campus with new Nigerian faculty members being trained according to the curriculum.

The second year will see all students, new faculty and some existing staff moving to the MEST campus in Lagos, Nigeria.

This innovative solution is a symbol of continued collaboration between international, regional and Nigerian leading private sector entities, facilitated by the FMCT.

Prior to its consolidating partnership with Interswitch, MEST has offered aspiring African entrepreneurs a fully sponsored two-year, intensive and full-time schooling programme since 2008 – training over 200 Ghanaian IT entrepreneurs and investing almost $2million in 17 software startups.

“We’re proud of what we’ve built thus far,” said Neal Hansch, managing director – Investment & Incubation, “Partnering with Interswitch will allow us to build on that success and jolt our efforts in the West African region. Nigeria is an extremely important piece of the puzzle in order for us to provide the most competitive environment for our students to then build Africa’s greatest tech products. Interswitch will be a driving force behind that.”

Nigeria proves to be an attractive move for tech giants and incubators alike. As the world’s seventh most populous nation today, 28% of Forbes’ 40 richest African entrepreneurs are from Nigeria.

The rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP makes the country the largest economy in Africa, surpassing South Africa, and making the country one of the biggest economies in the world today.

Mitchell Elegbe, group managing Ddrector, Interswitch Transnational Holdings, said “We’re delighted to be driving employment in Africa’s ICT industry, through this important partnership with MEST. Interswitch has long been developing products and services that help African businesses to grow, operate more efficiently and create jobs. This partnership is a natural extension of that work, in a field we are particularly passionate. This is an extremely exciting time for technology in Nigeria, and we look forward to showing young Africans how they can meet their potential in the sector”

Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology, Dr stated that ‘’The Interswitch / MEST training program is a welcome development that complements the work of the Federal Ministry in developing the skills and reach of local ICT entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

“One of the Ministry’s focal points is to develop local content, creating an environment that fosters innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We look forward to the success of this initiative and world class software companies in Nigeria, being created as a direct result of this collaboration’’.

Having already received over 1,000 applicants from Ghanaian students this year, Nigerian graduates from all backgrounds who are passionate about software and entrepreneurship are encouraged to now apply to MEST at www.meltwater.org/admissions before Monday 30th June, 2014. Information can also be found on www.interswitchng.com