Mauritian FinTech Startup Black Swan Takes Top Prize at MEST Africa Challenge 2025
Black Swan, a FinTech startup based in Mauritius, has emerged victorious at the prestigious MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025. The announcement came during an electrifying Grand Finale held at Innovation City, Cape Town, on November 26, 2025. The MEST Africa Challenge, organized by the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST Africa) and supported by Absa Group, is renowned as a leading Pan-African pitch competition, offering early-stage startups critical resources such as funding, mentorship, and enhanced global recognition.
Black Swan’s Vision: Revolutionizing Financial Inclusion in Africa
The 2025 edition of the MEST Africa Challenge honed in on the FinTech sector, showcasing innovative startups and embedded financial solutions designed to promote financial inclusion, streamline payment processes, and accelerate digital transformation across Africa. Black Swan, co-founded by Derick Kazimoto, distinguishes itself with a compelling mission: “Make Africa Bankable.” The startup directly addresses a significant challenge across the continent, where vast numbers of consumers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are unable to access formal lending due to issues with fragmented, informal, and difficult-to-verify data. This data gap excludes potential borrowers and hinders the expansion of credit across the African market.
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