Tetouan – As GITEX is prepping for their up-and-coming largest tech expo in Dubai – GITEX Global – the expo giant recently highlighted a past beneficiary of their Supernova Challenge – Morocco’s Anas Chanaa, CEO of Nucleon Security.
In a LinkedIn post celebrating his win at the past edition of the challenge at GITEX Africa 2023, held in Marrakech, GITEX celebrated Chanaa’s past win, congratulating him on raising $3.5 million for his company in a “milestone” funding round. “Your journey shows how GITEX, NorthStar, and GISEC empowers startups with the visibility, credibility, and investor networks needed to scale 10x,” the post read.
GITEX holds the Supernova challenge as a central part within their tech expos, where the newest and brightest entrepreneurs in the field have the chance to “pitch” to top-tier investors with solutions and novel ideas in the context of AI, healthtech, agritech, and edtech.
Receiving the GITEX Supernova stamp of approval is not just a simple award for these entrepreneurs – it’s a crucial endorsement from the world’s largest tech expo, which acts as a strong springboard for their projects and provides instant credibility.
Acknowledging this, Anaas was quoted in the post as saying that “Winning Supernova Challenge at GITEX AFRICA gave us instant credibility and proved Nucleon Security was ready to scale globally. We met most of our investors and VCs at GITEX.”
Who is Annas Channa, GITEX Africa Supernova Champion
Channa is co-founder and CEO of Nucleon Security. The company provides cybersecurity tools for endpoint devices (laptops, mobile phones, servers) from threats such as malware, phishing, and unauthorized access.
Channa’s company meets many of today’s top cybersecurity concerns and key factors. This includes a “zero trust” approach, meaning the system is designed to continually reinforce and check the device’s security, and adapts its security measures depending on the device and user’s needs.
Today, tech startups are about meeting the niche needs for users. Annas’s company meets the needs of businesses and their data; with a mix of human expertise and AI, the system instantly detects any threat to data and provides incident responses to users.
Renowned tech corporations, like Microsoft, have also recognized Nucleon Security’s excellence and efficiency. The company serves over 100 clients across Africa.
While complying to European cybersecurity standards, the company also has a “regional and sovereign focus,” meaning the data stays in its specific country or region. This is one of the company’s strong points that targets a niche need in the world of cybersecurity.
Nucleon Security’s win is one of many examples of how Morocco’s tech entrepreneurs are shaping the future of the industry.
GITEX Africa
In April of this year, Marrakech hosted the third edition of GITEX Africa – a transformative showcase that hosted more than 52,000 visitors, 1,450 exhibitors from 138 countries, and 740 tech startups – 260 of which were Moroccan.
The Marrakech edition elevated next-generation workers and the role of smaller businesses and the hands-on opportunities they provide for development in digital skills, tools, and platforms.
A variety of Moroccan startups and companies were among the participants and exhibitors. The Moroccan Federation of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Offshoring (APEBI) — who partnered with GITEX — rallied over 53 Moroccan tech companies to participate in GITEX.
The “Moroccan 200” Initiative provided mentoring, and local companies Tamwilcom and Flat6Labs partnered together to fund and accelerate startups. Moroccan startups IT Toad Group and Zen Networks were also featured participants that provided expertise on AI, data, governance, and architecture.
The event was productive and encouraging for both young tech-savvy individuals and established tech companies alike. One of the many achievements was Morocco’s official collaboration with Huawei, aimed at boosting digital skills.
Morocco World News was front and center providing coverage of the event, highlighting major Moroccan startups including Nsayblik – an innovative platform that facilitates work for graphic designers and digital freelancers.
GITEX past, future editions
Following the Marrakech success, GITEX continued throughout the continent into Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, holding another expo in early September. Startups and tech professionals from across the continent and beyond gathered in Nigeria to discuss Africa’s AI strategy. Topics ranged from rising regulation concerns to the ethics of AI in order to ensure the continent avoids potential disconnect and downfalls.
This edition further focused on the business and economic aspects of the tech space, with an emphasis on networking and investing.
Expanding out of the continent, GITEX ventured to Thailand September 10-12, where it hosted GITEX Digi Health & Biotech, bringing together experts in the field from across Southeast Asia and all over the world.
Looking ahead, the world’s largest tech and startup show will host their flagship event in Dubai – GITEX Global 2025 – scheduled to run October 13-17.
With the previous successes of GITEX’s multiple editions, anticipation is mounting in Dubai for this event to be a resounding success.
