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The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) kicked off the Deep Tech Summit (DTS) with the bold intent to position Africa at the forefront of global scientific innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital sovereignty.
This year’s summit focuses on how artificial intelligence is reshaping deep tech.
“This is not a tech show,” said Yassine Laghzioui, UM6P’s Director of Entrepreneurship and Venturing, as he opened the DTS. “We’re bringing together founders, researchers, and investors to tackle real problems in real time.”
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The summit gathers over 7,000 participants – over half of them coming from different parts of the world – to attend more than 60 sessions over two days, all set on UM6P’s fast-growing green campus.Â
The event includes panel discussions, experimental showrooms, deeptech factories and sittings for one-off reverse pitches, pitches in the dark, and elevator pitches.Â
“Why should the entrepreneur always be the one begging? We flipped it. Now the VCs must convince them,” he added, describing one of the summit’s standout formats – the reverse pitch – where investors pitch to startups, not the other way around.
Founded by the OCP Foundation and part of the phosphate giant OCP Group, UM6P has grown into one of Africa’s most ambitious research universities. At the press conference, Amina Lahbabi, the university’s Director of Communication and Public Relations, explained why.
“We’re a Moroccan and African university, built for Africa, by Africans,” she said. “We started by supporting OCP’s R&D, but today we’re working on solutions for the whole continent — in agriculture, AI, biotechnology, renewable energy, and more.”
The university’s Benguerir campus, spread over 80 hectares, was built with one goal: to create a city of knowledge. It includes “living labs” where students and researchers test ideas in real-world conditions — from experimental mining to green hydrogen production. UM6P also houses Africa’s most powerful supercomputer, helping researchers tackle big problems in data science and climate tech.
Lahbabi pointed to the university’s rapid growth with 7,200 students across multiple campuses, with 61% coming from African countries. More than 80% are on scholarships, and 60% have full funding. “Excellence and meritocracy matter here. Financial status should never be a barrier,” she said.
UM6P has also gone global, with new hubs in Paris, Montréal, and soon to be one in Côte d’Ivoire and Mexico. “We’re building bridges between Africa and the world,” Lahbabi said. “And we’re showing that Morocco can be a hub for research, innovation, and soft power.”
The university’s community work is just as important. In Rhamna, where the main campus sits, UM6P is running more than 20 local development projects from culture and sport to health and education. They’ve even partnered with the NBA’s junior program to launch Africa’s first basketball school.
This year’s Deep Tech Summit wants to turn Benguerir into Africa’s deep tech capital and prove that world-class science and startups don’t just belong in Silicon Valley or Europe — they belong in Morocco and in Africa too.
