ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Beyond a simple pedagogical program, entrepreneurship holds an important place in the strategy of the ESSEC Africa campus, which aims to be a key player in the environment in which it operates. ESSEC Africa Campus aims to design and develop tools that will enable the implementation of an approach to develop ecosystems that are favourable to entrepreneurship in Africa.

That's how In-Lab Africa, a centre for innovation and entrepreneurship, came into being. In-Lab Africa's ambition is to become a scout for entrepreneurial talent in Morocco and Africa, but also the first African platform for entrepreneurial content. It will also enable the linking of Pan-African ecosystems and the opening of their doors to international ecosystems.

For this purpose, In-Lab Africa has defined the following objectives:

• To be an incubator of content and pedagogy
  ESSEC Africa, through its In-Lab, wishes to accompany experts (professors, facilitators and students) through discussion groups or focus groups, co-design seminars, workshops on the scholarship ecosystem so that they can produce new content and new pedagogical processes. The latter aims to disrupt the status quo in order to come up with the most innovative solutions.

• Developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa
  In-lab Africa aims to develop entrepreneurial solutions, prototypes and action plans for a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem. This will help fill the gaps and provide a sharing platform for African entrepreneurship experts.

• Being a startup accelerator
  In-Lab Africa aims to be a true catalyst for youth entrepreneurship through the development of entrepreneurship programs and the design of customized toolkits for African entrepreneurs.

Concretely, In-lab Africa manages two major projects:

• Business Enhancer in partnership with Maroc PME: a program that aims to source profiles of excellence, raise awareness of entrepreneurship and accompany them in their entrepreneurial approach from the ideation to the seed phase through an incubation and acceleration process. Our offer is based on three main pillars: business expertise, a network of customized coaches and access to pre-development financing.

• Innovative Women Lab in partnership with the National Union of Moroccan Women (UNFM): is a program supported by the Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development. Through this program, we hope that innovative women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban areas can take the lead and make a difference. This pioneering project aims to provide academic, technical and financial support to young Moroccan women with innovative ideas and projects. It will last 6 months and will aim to improve the living conditions of the Kingdom's most vulnerable populations.

Information and contacts:
Salaheddine Moutacharif
Head of the innovation and entrepreneurship centre In-Lab ESSEC Africa
Tel: +212 5 37 82 40 05 - email