Four Moroccan companies awarded over 150 KHDS to entrepreneurs who created 33 business ideas and participated in AUI’s first “Speed Mentoring” during AUI’s Entrepreneurship Weekend.
Over 80 students -- freshmen to graduates -- created new businesses ranging from digital medical inclusion to language processing software to e-wallet innovations. The mentors were successful entrepreneurs in Morocco and digital experts who provided advice, mentoring and awards of networking, connecting, and expense payments for continuing the projects to prototyping and MVP (minimum viable product) stages.
The Awards were:
- Best Social Impact Business for Growth to Shaouq, started by Laila Achchit
- Best Social Impact Business for Prototyping to Cheezy Stopstarted by Laatifa, Mariam, Chaimaa, Yasmine and Hamza
- Best Environmental Impact Business to CheapIt, started by Abir, Imane, Ghali, Meryem, Youssra, Abdallah
- Best Idea for Incubating in Ifrane Region in a Social Startup Incubator to Artlas started by Zineb, Saad, Ali, Manar, Asmae and Salma
- Award of Networking to Prototype Stage to Cheezy Stopstarted by Laatifa, Mariam, Chaimaa, Yasmine and Hamza
- Award of Networking to MVP Stage to Annarabicstarted by Ahmed and Inass
- Award of Expert Mentoring by Maroc Numeric Cluster to Borsastarted by Nour Berrada
Four Awards of Technical Training by Maroc Numeric Cluster to Create a Prototype to
- O’Park started by Zakaria and Mohammed
- Park Me started by Ahmed, Aaya, and Ilas
- Annarabicstarted by Ahmed and Inass
- Cheezy Stopstarted by Laatifa, Mariam, Chaimaa, Yasmine and Hamza
- Award of Expert Mentoring with Intent to Invest by Chraibi and Sbihi to Shaouq, started by Laila Achchit
- Award of Prototyping Directly in Dachser Logistics on-site Mohammedia to SI Solutions started by Oumnia Bassam
- Award for Best in Region for Empowering Women, wins a 3000 dhs expense support, sponsored by Dachser Logistics for Artlasstarted by Zineb, Saad, Ali, Manar, Asmae, and Salma
- Award for Most Sustainable Business, wins a 3000 dhs expense support, sponsored by Dachser Logistics for: CheapIt, started by Abir, Imane, Ghali, Meryem, Youssra, Abdallah
- Award for Best Inclusion, wins a 3000 dhs expense support, sponsored by Global-Lights the Lighthouse for Moroccan Leaders to Cheezy Stop started by Latifa, Mariam, Chaimaa, Yasmine, and Hamza
- Award for Best HealthTech, , sponsored by Global-Lights the Lighthouse for Moroccan Leaders wins a 3000 dhs expense support, to WeAidstarted by Mazine Bouhaddioui
- Award for Best Digitech Innovation wins a 4000 dhs expense support, sponsored by EM Digital to Annarabic started by Ahmed and Inass
- Grand Prize Awards: Invitations to “Futures in Africa: Smart Mobility Challenge” in September 2022 by Maroc Numeric Cluster
This sponsorship is a value of 35000 dirhams to each team, a total value of 140,000 DHS
- O’Park started by Zakaria and Mohammed
- Park Me started by Ahmed, Aaya and Ilas
- Annarabicstarted by Ahmed and Inass
- Cheezy Stopstarted by Laatifa, Mariam, Chaimaa, Yasmine and Hamza
ALL 33 TEAMS won an exclusive Collaborating Club Membership supported by AUI, Maroc Numeric Cluster, Dachser Logistics, Devoteam Africa and African Business School. This will include digital sessions to set up administrative paperwork, websites, access to mentoring and to collaborating among groups.
The Entrepreneurship Weekend was created by the Office of Employability and Entrepreneurship alongside the Student-Led Incubator Startup Olympus to provide Inspiration, Mentorship, and Funding/Award projects to encourage and equip students to continue with entrepreneurial ventures while at AUI and beyond. The expert mentors onsite for the weekend were:
Touria Benlafqih, Amine Berrada – Alumni, M’Hamed Chraibi – Alumni, Karim Debbar – Alumni, Sanae El Ouali - Alumni
David Hayes, Nicolas Klotz, Tayeb Sbihi – Alumni, Sanaa Tazi – Alumni.