Two Ugandan fintech startups, Credify Africa, Inc., and Kanzu Finance Limited, have secured finalist spots in the 2025 MEST Africa Challenge. Their journey continues to Cape Town, South Africa on Nov. 26th, for the grand finale competing with startups from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, and Zambia US$50,000 (approx. UGX174.5 million) in equity investment, access to MEST Africa’s global network of mentors, partners, and investors, and the opportunity to explore pilot pathways with Absa’s business units.
“They pitched. They inspired. They delivered,” MEST Africa wrote on their LinkedIn Page. “After two days of inspiring Semi-final pitches across eight African markets, we’re thrilled to unveil the Top 10 finalists of the MEST Africa Challenge 2025. These ventures are redefining Africa’s fintech landscape, building inclusive, intelligent, and impactful solutions that are globally competitive yet deeply rooted in local realities.”
Credify streamlines cross-border trade by offering tailored financing, payment, and logistics solutions that ensure efficient imports and minimize risk—covering pre-delivery expenses with flexible post-delivery terms. By providing visibility, centralized communication, and secure document management, Credify empowers importers and exporters to gain greater control over their operations and leverage trade data to access financing.
Kanzu Finance Limited has developed a cloud-based core banking platform designed for SACCOs, VSLAs, Investment Clubs, and Microfinance Institutions. The platform enables these organizations to securely manage financial records, track growth, and enhance operational efficiency across key processes — including loan processing, savings deposit management, report generation, accounting compliance, and KYC data collection.
Credify and Kanzu are two out of six Ugandan startups shortlisted as semi-finalists that made it to the top 10 finalists.
The eight other startups competing in the finals are: Kutana Technologies, Devdraft, Blackswan, mystocks.africa, Investa Farm, Mighty Fin, Logistify AI, and Farmsky Ventures.
The MEST Africa Challenge highlights Africa’s most promising ventures in fintech and other high-value chain solutions, showcasing the continent’s growing innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurial potential.
The challenge is MEST Africa’s pan-African pitch competition designed to identify, support, and scale high-potential technology ventures. Now in its 7th edition in partnership with Absa, it brings to life the theme “You Build, We Scale” — inspiring founders to transform bold ideas into scalable financial solutions across Absa’s eight priority markets: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zambia.
As MEST Africa’s strategic partner for the 2025 challenge, Absa continues to play a pivotal role in driving digital innovation in financial services and inclusion across Africa. The partnership between the two entities underscores a shared commitment to empowering entrepreneurs who are redefining financial access for individuals and businesses alike.
Tamu Dutuma, Head of Strategy and Transformation for ARO Technology, noted that through the MEST Africa Challenges, they’re seeing solutions that are not only innovative but strategically aligned with Africa’s evolving technology landscape, with some of these ideas having the potential to accelerate digital transformation and unlock new value for our customers.
Since its inception in 2008, MEST Africa has trained and supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs and invested in over 90 startups across Africa.
