Djembe Consultants (Djembe), the MEA region’s Communications Partner of Choice, has announced the winners of its inaugural Accelerate with Djembe cohort at a demo day event in Accra. The Accelerate with Djembe Program, the world’s first communications-focused accelerator program for scaleups in the Middle East and Africa, has provided cohort members with branding, public relations, digital marketing, and investor relations advisory support over the past six months.

At the event, Djembe CEO Mitchell Prather stated: “Our focus at Djembe is to serve as a growth catalyst for the MEA innovation ecosystem. Accelerate with Djembe provides a platform to bridge the communications gap we have encountered in the sector, and the results we have seen our scale-ups achieve in recent months only strengthen the narrative that innovation can indeed be powered by storytelling. We are proud of the winners and look forward to continuing our collaboration with them in the coming year.”

Winning Scaleups:

• First place: YY ReGen – Lebanon
• Second place: Stemaide Africa – Ghana
• Third place (tie): Mzuri Organics – Kenya & Saving System – Egypt

The winning scaleups selected after a thorough pitch will have access to the full offering of Djembe Consultants for one year, six months, and three months, respectively. They will also engage with the entire Djembe ecosystem – including investors, media professionals, captains of industry, and finance experts from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Each scale-up will be treated as a distinct Djembe client and receive top-tier corporate communications advisory services covering key areas, particularly market insight, data analysis, crisis preparedness, and investor and media relations.

Co-founder of first place winner YY Regen, Hasan Jaafar, commented, "Our team is incredibly honored to have won first place within the amazing cohort group. We thank the Djembe team, led by Mitchell Prather, for believing in YY Regen and our mission. This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without their unwavering support in building our messaging, insightful feedback, and thoughtful coordination throughout the program. We are excited to continue working together in the coming year and to benefit from Djembe’s expertise as we push forward with our mission.”

The inaugural cohort enabled participating scale-ups to strengthen their communications, refine their messaging, and generate new momentum to grow their businesses. These efforts resulted in the participating scale-ups collectively securing funds or the equivalent of over USD 350,000 through grants and support from global institutions like UNICEF, the WFP, and Orange Corners, among others. Since its inception in 2012, Djembe Consultants has mentored and supported over 100 MEA startups and scale-ups to secure over USD 8.7 million.

The next cohort of Accelerate with Djembe will kick off in the year's second half. To inquire about partnership opportunities with Accelerate with Djembe or for any other inquiries, email accelerate@djembeconsultants.com.

About Djembe Consultants

Named after the West African drum, Djembe Consultants is an independently owned, pioneering pan-African and Middle Eastern communications consultancy with a mission to become the communications partner of choice in the MEA region by combining global expertise, local market capabilities, and customised solutions to deliver best-in-class services to clients. Djembe’s home-grown teams in Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria are complemented

by a global network of in-house specialist consultants in developed and emerging markets in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Djembe is committed to changing the narratives of Africa and the Middle East by providing various reputation management capabilities, including crisis communications, digital engagement, event management, expert positioning, international stakeholder engagement, media engagement, public affairs advice, brand development, and design application.

The consultancy offers advice on market entry strategies tailored to the nuances of individual MEA countries within a global context. Djembe’s reputation management work is built upon powerful, research-driven communication strategies that often dovetail with complex stakeholder environments. For more information, visit www.djemberconsultants.com.