Making meat in Africa

Meat has been an integral part of culture and tradition since our first human ancestors started enjoying it thousands of years ago. We savour the taste of meat, use it as the basis of social gatherings, and revere it as a rich form of protein. Its current production, however, comes at a great cost...

At Mzansi Meat Co. we're working to bring tasty, healthy meat to your braai’s, potjie's and shisanyama’s by growing it from cells instead of taking it from animals.

This is cultivated meat, and we’re on a mission to transform how we think about food, while continuing to eat what we love.


100% delicious
0% nasty stuff

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Take a closer look at our work

Why Cultivated Meat?

For the Environment

Animal agriculture utilises over 80% of the world’s habitable land, 30% of our freshwater supply, and is a major contributor of deforestation. Growing population and increased popularity of meat-heavy diets is predicted to lead to scarcity and rising prices.

For Our Health

Antibiotics are important for ensuring livestock health. Unfortunately, their overuse has led to an upsurge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Our cultivation process, on the other hand, requires no antibiotics, is sterile and doesn't generate any stress hormones.

For the Animals

Animals produce what we consume in a really inefficient way. Despite that, over 60 billion land animals are slaughtered around the world for food every year, most of them living in crowded, unsanitary conditions and killed using cruel, stress-inducing methods..

Why Us?

Pioneering Biology

Our cell harvesting methods are cruelty-free, and by using exclusively serum-free culture medium and growth factors, you can rest assured that our products will be both fast-growing and sustainable.

Trailblazing Engineering

We're testing a wide combination of animal-free biomaterials, hydrogels, plant cellulose and yeast cultures in order to engineer the optimal scaffolds and develop the traditional tastes and textures you know and love.

Ethical Values

We commit to following morally upstanding processes and plan to be transparent in terms of our technical cell culturing methods. It is our hope to become a guiding light for responsible cellular agriculture practices and sustainably produced cultivated meat in Africa.

Meet The Team

Dr. Angela Botes

Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Angela Botes holds a B.Sc in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc (Cum laude) and PhD in Microbiology all from Stellenbosch University— regarded amongst the world's best higher education institutions. She also completed a postdoc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Dr. Botes is a talented mycologist and has experience with the metabolic engineering of yeast and a passion for utilizing her skills for environmental conservation initiatives.

Dr. Colin Venter

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Venter holds a PhD and a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and a BSc (Summa Cum Laude) in Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is passionate and highly skilled in the specialization of mammalian cell culture and working with fibroblasts and during academic research he developed several innovative and novel methods to evaluate intercellular communication and cell behavior. This included a method of co-culture that could facilitate two or more cell types and optimized methods to rapidly quantify cellular proliferation, migration and alignment.

Brett Thompson

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Brett studied finance and economics at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University in South Africa. After completing his Honours thesis, Making an Economic Case for Vegetarianism, he went on to work at the Fry Family Food Co., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plant-based food alternatives. Brett has also held senior positions at Beyond Carnism and ProVeg International, accumulating over ten years of experience in animal advocacy.

Jay Van Der Walt

Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer

Jay holds a Master's in Metaphysical Science and is a certified Business Analyst and Product Owner. He has management experience in the technology space at multinational corporations and remotely at a cultivated fish startup and various other impact companies in the US. Jay has consulted for startups and NPO’s in the Alternative Protein and Impact Investment space focusing on project coordination, community building, research, and web design.

Absie Pantshwa

Public Relations Officer

Absie is a serial entrepreneur and expert customer liaison. She is the Co-Founder of Fresh Corporation who's group of companies provides next level events and catering services to top-tier companies. In addition, Absie has extensive experience in food service, restaurant ownership and guest logistics in Southern Africa. She also owns a bakery-delicatessen as well as a Kauai franchise.

Tasneem Karodia

Chief Financial Officer

Tasneem has a Bachelor of Business Science in Management Studies majoring in Accounting and Finance and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. She has extensive experience in strategy and performance improvements and the ability to analyze large amounts of information, both qualitative and quantitative, drawing out salient points to develop insights and recommend practical solutions.

Tasneem has experience across a variety of industries, with a focus on private equity, mining and telecommunications. She also has a passion for sustainability, particularly as it relates to our food systems and is looking to contribute positively to change in this space.

Kyle Andrew Naylor

Research Scientist

Kyle is a PhD candidate (thesis submitted) in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town. His research focused on the development of phage display antibodies against emerging fish pathogens, for the improvement of the aquaculture industry.
He has Experience with yeast protein expression as well as mammalian cell culture techniques. Kyle is mission-driven and wants to use science to develop food security solutions.

Lauren Crooks

R&D Consultant

Lauren is a smart and driven Molecular and Cell Biology scientist keen to disrupt the food system using biotechnology. Lauren holds a first class Honours degree with specialisation in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and an M.Sc in Molecular and Cell Biology with a focus on Protein Biochemistry and Cell Biology. She is skilled in Protein Chemistry, Mammalian Cell Biology, Signal Transduction, Data Analysis and Molecular Oncology.

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