Two Moroccan Business Creation Projects Awarded in Paris at the Closing of the "Tremplin Maroc" Program
15 June 2010
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Paris, 06/13/10- Two projects by young aspiring entrepreneurs wishing to establish themselves in Morocco were awarded prizes on Saturday evening in Paris, at the closing of the "Tremplin Maroc" program, the flagship event of the "Maroc Entrepreneurs" association.
The first prize was awarded to the "Medina Telecom" project, a solution offering shared communication functionalities for SMEs, led by Anas Alhilal, a telecommunications consultant based in Paris.
The second prize was awarded to "Evestia". This project, led by Omar Souidi, a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris, proposes an e-business platform for the development of SMEs in Morocco by facilitating their connection with foreign investors (b2b).
Three other finalist projects of this competition were also presented at this 4th edition of the "Rendez-vous de la création d'entreprise", held at the prestigious ESCP European School of Management. They focus on the areas of brokerage in responsible tourism, recruitment of skills for emerging markets, and e-commerce of childcare equipment.
This competition is the culmination of a program spanning nearly six months, offered free of charge by a team of young volunteers from Maroc Entrepreneurs to support project leaders until the effective creation of their business in Morocco.
After an initial selection of the most innovative and feasible projects in the short or medium term, the selected candidates follow the Tremplin Maroc training in Paris at the rate of one Saturday every two weeks for four months. These sessions of theoretical courses and personalized coaching are given, in a small group, by recognized professionals in Paris.
The training covers disciplines as varied as market research, business model, financial analysis, accounting, taxation and legal matters.
According to Mohamed Naoufal Serghini, Secretary General of Maroc Entrepreneurs, the Tremplin Maroc competition is aimed at any project leader, Moroccan or not, student or graduate, who feels motivated by the entrepreneurial adventure and is ready to get involved to bring to fruition a project in which they believe.
Each year, the association receives a total of about one hundred applications, from which about twenty are pre-selected. Subsequently, a jury will select five or six who will benefit from concrete support for four or five months, he told MAP.
The jury does not judge the viability or profitability of the project, but rather the approach, the business plan and the structure, he explained.
Regarding the follow-up of the winning projects, Mr. Serghini assured that the winners of previous editions have created their businesses and started their activities, citing the example of the creation of a sector for collecting, processing and recycling used cooking oil or the marketing of innovative advertising materials.
This event was marked by the organization of a round table on the theme: "the Moroccan diaspora: a breeding ground for the development of entrepreneurship in Morocco" and a conference on the theme "Regionalization project in Morocco: new perspectives for entrepreneurship".
Speaking at this conference, the Director General of the Social Development Agency (ADS), Mr. Nagib Guedira, highlighted the importance of the launch of the regionalization process in Morocco, noting that it is a "transformation of words into action".
In this regard, he urged the young talents of the Moroccan diaspora to mobilize to contribute to the current development dynamic in Morocco.
For his part, Abdelkrim Mehdi, Director General of the Oriental Region Investment Fund, emphasized the projects launched under the impetus of HM the King throughout the Kingdom, particularly in terms of the development of motorway, port, and airport infrastructure and the urban rehabilitation of cities and villages which, he estimated, constitutes an ideal platform for regionalization.
In addition to the members of the Association, the meeting was attended by venture capitalists and representatives of associations and several public and private partner institutions, such as the Oriental Development Agency, Chaabi Bank (Banque Populaire Group).
Created in 1999, the Maroc Entrepreneurs association aims to contribute to economic development in Morocco by encouraging Moroccans living abroad, particularly in France, to create their businesses in Morocco and encouraging Moroccan "talents" to return home to join an existing or newly created business.
Based in Paris, Lyon and London, Maroc Entrepreneurs now represents the largest network of senior executives and Moroccan students in Europe, with over 10,000 members.
Published on June 13, 2010
Posted online on June 15, 2010
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The first prize was awarded to the "Medina Telecom" project, a solution offering shared communication functionalities for SMEs, led by Anas Alhilal, a telecommunications consultant based in Paris.
The second prize was awarded to "Evestia". This project, led by Omar Souidi, a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris, proposes an e-business platform for the development of SMEs in Morocco by facilitating their connection with foreign investors (b2b).
Three other finalist projects of this competition were also presented at this 4th edition of the "Rendez-vous de la création d'entreprise", held at the prestigious ESCP European School of Management. They focus on the areas of brokerage in responsible tourism, recruitment of skills for emerging markets, and e-commerce of childcare equipment.
This competition is the culmination of a program spanning nearly six months, offered free of charge by a team of young volunteers from Maroc Entrepreneurs to support project leaders until the effective creation of their business in Morocco.
After an initial selection of the most innovative and feasible projects in the short or medium term, the selected candidates follow the Tremplin Maroc training in Paris at the rate of one Saturday every two weeks for four months. These sessions of theoretical courses and personalized coaching are given, in a small group, by recognized professionals in Paris.
The training covers disciplines as varied as market research, business model, financial analysis, accounting, taxation and legal matters.
According to Mohamed Naoufal Serghini, Secretary General of Maroc Entrepreneurs, the Tremplin Maroc competition is aimed at any project leader, Moroccan or not, student or graduate, who feels motivated by the entrepreneurial adventure and is ready to get involved to bring to fruition a project in which they believe.
Each year, the association receives a total of about one hundred applications, from which about twenty are pre-selected. Subsequently, a jury will select five or six who will benefit from concrete support for four or five months, he told MAP.
The jury does not judge the viability or profitability of the project, but rather the approach, the business plan and the structure, he explained.
Regarding the follow-up of the winning projects, Mr. Serghini assured that the winners of previous editions have created their businesses and started their activities, citing the example of the creation of a sector for collecting, processing and recycling used cooking oil or the marketing of innovative advertising materials.
This event was marked by the organization of a round table on the theme: "the Moroccan diaspora: a breeding ground for the development of entrepreneurship in Morocco" and a conference on the theme "Regionalization project in Morocco: new perspectives for entrepreneurship".
Speaking at this conference, the Director General of the Social Development Agency (ADS), Mr. Nagib Guedira, highlighted the importance of the launch of the regionalization process in Morocco, noting that it is a "transformation of words into action".
In this regard, he urged the young talents of the Moroccan diaspora to mobilize to contribute to the current development dynamic in Morocco.
For his part, Abdelkrim Mehdi, Director General of the Oriental Region Investment Fund, emphasized the projects launched under the impetus of HM the King throughout the Kingdom, particularly in terms of the development of motorway, port, and airport infrastructure and the urban rehabilitation of cities and villages which, he estimated, constitutes an ideal platform for regionalization.
In addition to the members of the Association, the meeting was attended by venture capitalists and representatives of associations and several public and private partner institutions, such as the Oriental Development Agency, Chaabi Bank (Banque Populaire Group).
Created in 1999, the Maroc Entrepreneurs association aims to contribute to economic development in Morocco by encouraging Moroccans living abroad, particularly in France, to create their businesses in Morocco and encouraging Moroccan "talents" to return home to join an existing or newly created business.
Based in Paris, Lyon and London, Maroc Entrepreneurs now represents the largest network of senior executives and Moroccan students in Europe, with over 10,000 members.
Published on June 13, 2010
Posted online on June 15, 2010
map
