Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Ifrane – At the conclusion of Al Akhawayn University’s (AUI) “Entrepreneurship Week” on November 18, the university awarded the startups who participated in the event’s “Speed Mentoring” sessions.
During the event, 25 Moroccan and international entrepreneurs and digital professionals provided advice, coaching, networking, and awards to the participants.
The mentors awarded a total amount of $13,000 (MAD 130,000 approximately) to help the projects progress to the prototyping and Minimal Viable Product (MVP) stages.
The startup winners following the “Entrepreneurship Week” in Ifrane
More than 40 teams, ranging from freshmen to graduates, participated with ventures utilizing new concepts and AI in the tech industry, business models, and even the water economy.
AUI’s Office of Employability and Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with the Student-Led Incubator Startup Olympus, developed the Entrepreneurship Week to provide inspiration, mentorship, and funding or awards to encourage and equip students to continue with their entrepreneurial ventures.
AUI President Amine Bensaid, Chief Entrepreneurship Officer Deborah Bartlett, and Dean at the School of Science and Engineering Salah Al-Majeed were present at the award ceremony.
AUI startups celebrating their final day of Mentoring Sessions
Speaking to Morocco World News (MWN), Bensaid said that “the award ceremonies are really a wonderful thing because they play into the gamification, and this generation gives without counting when they’re motivated.”
Bensaid mentioned the crucial role the university plays to develop its students’ entrepreneurial mindset through its liberal arts system which “focuses on the human dimension of the students.”
He added that the university tries to leverage this liberal arts system to “further free the mind and transcend risk aversion.”
Al Akhawayn University President Amine Bensaid
He also stressed that AUI develops the skill of “thinking about ideas, to be exposed to different things in different ways by different people who care about them as humans.”
The president came to the conclusion that the university is focusing on two aspects of mindset training: overcoming risk aversion and displaying grit, because it is critical for entrepreneurs to persevere until they achieve their goals and “put their ideas into play.”
Read also: Expert Entrepreneurs Help Young Moroccans Hone Their Start-Up Ideas
