Search past winners/finalists


  • MESA logo

Meltwater Group

ABA11 Winner / How to Enter

Company: Meltwater Group, San Francisco, CA
Entry Submitted By: Edelman
Company Description: Meltwater Group is a privately held San Francisco-based company delivering SaaS-based products for media monitoring, tracking social media activity, collaboration and recruitment.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - Up to 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology - encouraging and fostering Ghanaian entrepreneurial talent

    Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

        Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is the brainchild of Jorn Lyseggen, the founder and CEO of the Meltwater Group. It was founded in 2007 in Accra, Ghana, by Meltwater Group’s non-profit arm, the Meltwater Foundation, when Jorn was inspired to make a positive change in Africa. As one of the least developed continents in the world, Africa is home to many stagnant economies where highly educated individuals have few job opportunities. Jorn recognized the unique opportunity to transfer Meltwater’s knowledge and experience beyond the company walls and into the global community.

        MEST is a non-profit, three-phase entrepreneurial training program. ‘Entrepreneurs in Training’ (EITs) are selected through a comprehensive interview process by a panel of successful global entrepreneurs and they begin Phase One, a rigorous, two-year training course. Those EITs with business ideas that are deemed to be viable then move on to Phase Two – Incubation - where graduates from the training program are given an opportunity to bring their business ideas to life through seed funding, access to advisors and office space. Finally in Phase Three, the Meltwater Foundation and its network of experienced mentors and advisors provide assistance for companies that emerge from the incubator. The second group of the School’s EITs has recently entered Phase Two of the program. One of MEST’s biggest accomplishments is the burgeoning success of its students and their incubated companies, which recently entered the MEST Incubator, opened in September 2010. Companies like RetailTower, Nandi Mobile, Streemio and Leti Games serve consumer, B2B clients and the gaming market. In some cases these  companies are utilizing corporate partnerships with retailers, telecommunications companies or banks to distribute solutions to the market.

        One specific success story is of Wesley Kirinya and Eyram Tawia. Wesley and Eyram created Leti Games, which through MEST’s guidance and support became Africa’s first commercial game contribution to the multibillion-dollar computer gaming industry. MEST awarded the company $100,000 in seed financing that turned it from a technology into a functioning business. It's first game, iWarrior, is available for download on iTunes. This accomplishment is made ever more significant when taking the Ghanaian economy into consideration. Prospective Ghanaian entrepreneurs face an uncertain marketplace with little economic and political stability. Last year it was reported that Ghana fell five ranks relating to the ease of doing business, falling to 95 among the 183 economies and 113th for ease of obtaining credit. With young Ghanaians constituting over 40% of the country’s population, the potential impact that MEST could have on the country as a whole is immense. MEST was a challenging undertaking as it is the first program of its kind in Africa, where no similar program is able to act as a guide for software entrepreneurs. However, the sophistication of the technology and ideas, and ultimate success of companies such as Leti Games and others are hopefully a testament to the success of the MEST program and the promise of innovations that will emerge from Africa in the future.

    List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

        http://www.blackweb20.com/2010/11/24/incubating-innovation-in-accra-ghana/ http://africa.gew2009.org/11/17/bottlenecks-and-the-entrepreneurial-spirit/ http://whiteafrican.com/2009/08/19/meltwater-training-tech-entrepreneurs-in-ghana/ http://www.meltwater.com/about/press-room/news-releases/meltwater-foundation-announces-opening-of-non-profit-incubator http://www.meltwater.org/about/press/mest-celebrates-graduation-of-inaugural-class http://mightyafrican.blogspot.com/2010/03/tasting-meltwater-entrepreneurial.html http://ict4entrepreneurship.com/2010/06/25/technology-drives-innovation-in-africa/

    Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

        In 2001, Jorn Lyseggen established Meltwater Group, a Norway-based Business-to-Business online media monitoring company. Jorn started Meltwater without any external funding and it has grown to $100 million in bookings in less than 10 years. He credits his successes to a business model that goes against conventions in the tech world by putting the business strategy and the development of employees before the technology. With a strong focus on the people and culture, Jorn’s approach and core values have grown Meltwater to a global company of over 55 offices with 700 staff.