2024-04-20 19:05:28
Finances News Hebdo: Only a few weeks separate us from the second edition of Gitex Africa Morocco. What are the particularities of this new edition?
Chakib Achour: First of all, it is important to remember that the annual Global Gitex exhibition started in Dubai more than 40 years ago. It is one of the largest events worldwide dedicated to technological innovation and digital, since it now welcomes between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors, which undoubtedly makes it a universal platform in this field. where technological operators, investors and public sectors come together and private individuals, prescribers, entrepreneurs and startups, researchers and speakers, and influencers from the four corners of the world to seize all the business and networking opportunities offered by this global mass. Also, it should be noted that this is the first time that Gitex has exported outside the Middle East. And to find a place on the African continent, through several parameters and multidimensional considerations, the strategic choice fell on Morocco to organize and host Gitex Africa. Organized in Marrakech in June 2023, the first edition of Gitex Africa was a great success. This unprecedented event in Africa saw the participation of more than 100 country and managed to attract 32,000 visitors.
This year, and given the developments the world is experiencing in the field of new technologies, and also considering the desire of digital ecosystems to evolve and follow the new trends recorded, the ambitions are enormous. First of all, we have increased the exhibition capacity, allowing twice as many companies to participate and present their products and services, amounting to more than 1,400 companies. In addition, no less than 150 countries will be represented, including 50 African countries, and this second edition plans to welcome more than 50,000 visitors. In addition to stands reserved for telecom operators, telecommunications, cyber securitysecurity, IoT, etc., this show will consist of a hall entirely dedicated to startups. This space will welcome between 700 and 800 young innovative companies. Likewise, this edition will also stand out with a hall reserved for fintech, and this is a big novelty. In this regard, I would like to emphasize that we are pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary enthusiasm on the part of several companies and institutions which operate in particular in mobile payment, in financial inclusion, and in digital wallet, and which will be part exhibitors in this 100% fintech space. Another new feature: this year we are holding, on the sidelines of Gitex Africa, the first edition of the “World Future Health Africa” conference, dedicated to health.
We decided to program this conference on the basis of the feedback and conclusions drawn from the first edition, and following which it proved essential to address themes in line with Moroccan and African concerns. Among them, the provision of services in the health sector is today a strategic priority in economic and social development policies. At the Kingdom level, major projects are currently underway, including the generalization of AMO, the shared medical file and the digitalization of the care sheet. These projects, like so many others, put health at the forefront of promising projects. Alongside this, this edition will be marked by the organization of the Supernova Challenge, which rewards the best startups who will take advantage of the opportunities of the show to showcase their talents and expertise and pitch to numerous prescribers. Participating startups will also have the opportunity to meet investors. As a reminder, last year, two Moroccan startups managed to win prizes.
FNH: This edition aims to reach 200 Moroccan startups instead of the 100 startups present during the 2023 edition of Gitex Africa Morocco. What can you tell us about this new objective? What does the “Morocco 200” plan for these 200 Moroccan startups?
Ch. A. : Last year, when Gitex Africa Morocco had just started, this program was called “Morocco 100”. It should be noted that it was a brilliantly exemplary experience for the Moroccan startup ecosystem, where our young talents wonderfully represented our country at this global mass of innovation. This year, considering the growing evolution of this young innovative entrepreneurial fabric, and with our partners – the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, in close coordination with the Agency of digital development (ADD), we decided to double the capacity for startups, hence the name “Morocco 200”. Startups selected to participate in this program will benefit from a subsidized 4m² stand at the Gitex Africa Morocco exhibition as well as the necessary support to guarantee their best preparation. These are information and orientation sessions, particularly on the progress of the show, its work and the services it offers to connect with the business world, during the three days of the show. event. This particularly concerns the terms of participation in the Supernova Challenge, winning prizes and benefiting from a dedicated matching service, with more than 600 meetings planned between startups, investors and companies at Gitex Africa Morocco. In addition, and as part of its efforts to support the startup ecosystem, the ministry grants a subsidy which covers 95% of the overall cost of participation for all selected startups.
FNH: As part of the Morocco 200, you launched a roadshow for the benefit of innovative startups. What are the objectives of these meetings and what assessment do you make of them?
Ch. A. : In order to raise awareness and inform the different components of the Moroccan digital ecosystem regarding its participation in the Morocco 200 program, we organized, in partnership with the ministry and the ADD, a roadshow in 4 regions, namely CasablancaSettat, Tangier -Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Agadir-Sous Massa and Fez-Meknes. During this tour, we met hundreds of startups with whom we shared opportunities offered by the Morocco 200 program and by Gitex Africa, strongly encouraging them to register. These meetings included exchanges and discussions enriching around the challenges and perspectives of entrepreneurial innovation as well as highlighting the efforts made by stakeholders in the service of the development of startups in our country. Allow me, at the same time, to say that we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the talents encountered and the extraordinary potential that these regions contain in terms of young entrepreneurs and leaders of projects and ideas. They are all driven by the will and determination to move forward and succeed in their startup projects, in several sectors of activity.
After this roadshow, the 200 startups will be selected by an evaluation committee established for this purpose, and composed of several actors and stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurial innovation. The startups selected at the end of this stage will have the chance to cross paths with innovative companies from elsewhere, including African champions in the field of fintech and other booming companies in different sectors. This connection between Moroccan and international startups is still of capital importance for them, as it allows them to win business contracts and raise funds. Gitex is an exceptional platform for Moroccan startups to put themselves forward and gain competence and competitiveness. Today in Africa, startups constitute the heart of the development of the digital economy. In 2022, more than $4 billion was raised by African startups, and in 2025, this figure will likely exceed $10 billion, proving that this enthusiasm for the digital economy can contribute significantly to development. of the national and continental economy.
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