11e edition of the Inwi Days ended on Thursday in Casablanca with an award ceremony for startups that offer innovative and mature solutions to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the distribution sector.
Placed under the sign of “Retailtech”, the 11e edition of the Inwi Days Awards awarded four Moroccan startups including FMCG for the 1st Prize (100,000 DH), Nouspo for the second (70,000 DH), Smart Transformation (40,000 DH) for the third, while Crescent received the “Coup de coeur public “.
On this occasion, the Open Innovation manager at Inwi, Mehdi Laachach, highlighted the richness and density of the content of this edition through which the jury and the experts deciphered the theme of Retailtech which embodies both challenges and opportunities for contractors.
“We covered several interesting and topical topics, including the digitization of points of sale, new payment solutions at retail level,” he added, noting that the competition received 240 applications, including 10 shortlisted. to finally reward 4 startups.
The winners respond effectively and intelligently to the issues posed to merchants in the distribution sector, and have real potential for maturity and development in terms of disruptive technologies such as Blockchain or Artificial Intelligence, specified Laachach.
As for the jury made up of business personalities, institutions, funders and representatives of the operator Inwi, Laachach explained that the main criteria used are the degree of innovation of the project, the existence of a market for the proposed solution, the solidity of the team and the quality of its skills.
The winning startups received a financial reward and will also need to be supported under the “Inwi Innov” program to further develop their projects, he said.
During this edition, “Inwi Days” brought together renowned participants and speakers who discussed the emerging challenges of the sector while deciphering the impact of technological advances on the shopping experience.
“Inwi Days” reflects Inwi’s vocation, as an innovative and committed operator, to support the consolidation and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Morocco.