The Mauritanian business development group Maurinvest-Maurilog and Bpifrance, announce their partnership within the framework of the creation of an Innovation Hub in Mauritania and its operational deployment. This announcement, in partnership with Bond’innov, is part of an immersion mission in Mauritania for 35 companies, under the aegis of Bpifrance and the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), in collaboration with the Agency for the Promotion of Investments in Mauritania (APIM) and the National Union of Mauritanian Employers (UMPM), from March 8 – 10.
The Maurinvest-Maurilog group is forging a partnership with Bpifrance and Bond’innov to create an innovation hub in West Africa to support the development of local startups.
As a first-hand witness of the entrepreneurial and innovative dynamism of Mauritania, Maurinvest-Maurilog is aware of the lack of financing and outlets that hinder the development of Mauritanian start-ups. Based on this observation, Maurinvest-Maurilog has decided to launch a structure for welcoming, training and supporting innovation players, the Innovation Hub.
Maurinvest-Maurilog is joining forces with Bpifrance and Bond’innov, which will bring to the table their know-how through a technical assistance contract, for the creation and operational deployment of the Innovation Hub.
Designed to promote exchanges and the acquisition of skills, the Innovation Hub will provide a conducive environment that will allow the maturation and acceleration of Mauritanian startups.
Objective of this Innovation Hub: to accelerate the development of at least 20 startups by 2025.
This unifying space, whose operational launch is planned before the end of 2023, will facilitate access to the market and to sources of financing for young Mauritanian companies. It aims to support around twenty innovative companies over the next two years. In this perspective, the expertise and technical assistance of Bpifrance and Bond’innov will be decisive.
The objective of the Innovation Hub will be to develop acceleration paths, which allow the placing on the market of innovative solutions with an orientation resolutely oriented towards the development of “local content, which meets the Mauritanian economic, social and environmental needs. The Innovation Hub will strive to create an ecosystem in favor of the scaling up of innovative solutions in interaction with national and international economic and financial players.
For Mohamed Abdellahi Yaha, founder and manager of Maurinvest, “Mauritania will become a hydrocarbons exporting country. A local content strategy has therefore been defined. The new activities must in some way radiate the entire economy of the country, particularly in terms of skills
acquisition and vocational training. This prospect represents one of the major current challenges for our country and it underlines the responsibility of the private sector, which must invest more in the future. This is why, as an industrial group, we are interested in talents, idea and innovations carriers for which they must do, as we say, “the proof of the concept”. A proof or rather a test, through which skills and projects must be given the opportunity to be turned into new jobs.”
Isabelle Bébéar, Director of International and European Affairs at Bpifrance, says: “Mauritania has a real potential in terms of innovation. Drawing on Bpifrance’s experience in terms of financing and supporting innovative start-ups and SMEs, we are happy to support the creation of this Hub and its integration into the ecosystem of local players, as close as possible to the economic, social and environmental needs of the country.”
Ninon Duval, Director of Bond’innov, highlights: “The commitment of a private group like Maurinvest-Maurilog, under the leadership of its emblematic founder, to strengthen entrepreneurship in Mauritania is excellent news to encourage the entrepreneurial dynamics of Mauritania and the countries of the sub-region. There is a catch-up taking place in the countries of the Francophonie on the subjects of innovation. Incubators have been doing groundwork for years, we will have a lot to learn. We hope to bring our contribution to insert the talents of Mauritania in the international dynamics and to contribute to push forwards international investments in this country. We are honored by the confidence of Maurinvest-Maurilog in this partnership, as well as that of Bpifrance.”
