The Young Entrepreneurs Trophies, placed under the aegis of the Al Mada Foundation, were presented on June 28, 2024 under the presidency of Mr. Hassan Ouriagli, President of the Al Mada Group, during the 2024 edition of the International Africa Development Forum
Selected by a jury chaired by Ms. Noufissa Kessar, Deputy General Manager of the Al Mada Group, and composed of prestigious experts, these Trophies recognize the excellence, innovation and originality of projects from several countries on the African continent.
According to the press release, they are part of the Al Mada Foundation’s desire to support the emergence of young talents on the pan-African economic scene through concrete actions, establishing the young award-winning talents as inspiring models for African youth.
Four young award-winning entrepreneurs
Henri Diele, the young Congolese entrepreneur who won the first Prize, congratulated by Hassan Ouriagli, President of the Al Mada Group
The four young entrepreneurs who won the Trophies are:
• 1st prize of 250,000 DHS: Congo Plast, a Congolese company headed by Mr. Henri Diele, using cutting-edge technology for the collection and recycling of plastic waste;
• 2nd prize worth 200,000 DHS: Deepecho, a Moroccan company headed by Mr. Youssef Bouyakhf, using artificial intelligence to improve prenatal diagnoses;
• 3rd prize in the amount of 100,000 DHS: Innovative Clan, a Cameroonian company managed by Ms. Ako Joelle Agborndang, having developed digital payment solutions for the education sector;
• Jury’s favorite in the amount of 50,000 DHS: Gaz-tech, a Congolese company managed by Ms. AndressBellina Loemba, offering a service for disadvantaged Congolese families of sales and mobile payment of Gas-LPG per use .
On the occasion of this presentation of the Trophies, Mr. Hassan Ouriagli declared that “this initiative celebrates the dynamics of the Al Mada fund in the service of entrepreneurship, for which we work on a daily basis, both through our participations and through our Foundation, putting issues of inclusion and support for entrepreneurship at the heart of our action.” And added that: “convinced of the potential of entrepreneurship for the socio-economic development of Morocco and the Continent, the Al Mada Foundation has been deploying for many years several programs to promote entrepreneurship in all its forms , putting the emergence of a new generation of African entrepreneurs at the heart of its priorities”, before detailing the foundation’s approach in favor of entrepreneurship, an approach that he described as a “long-term approach , structured and integrated, around a fully articulated process, which aims to unlock the potential of our youth, to boost our economic fabric and to create opportunities for all.”
Address to African Youth
The President of the Al Mada Group spoke directly to African youth, calling them “talented, passionate, hardworking”, encouraging them to undertake, and to “explore a path” which is, according to him, “the path of the future, the one which offers the most possibilities, as the challenges and issues of our continent are major, but as these challenges and these issues are so many opportunities to invest, and take the path of sustainable and inclusive growth, for all of us, and for Africa”.
The Al Mada Foundation
The Al Mada Foundation is one of the levers that translates Al Mada’s ESG commitment on the ground, one of the largest private equity investment funds on the pan-African scene, working towards sustainable and shared growth, on a national and then pan-African scale. Through its “Positive Impact” signature, the fund is dedicated to producing a positive and inclusive footprint over the long term. This is materialized in particular by the implementation of large-scale programs in the fields of arts and culture, education, inclusion and entrepreneurship, as well as the environment.
Par WritingEditorial Committee
