I was beyond excited to be selected for the prestigious Bridge Africa Summit 2025 as a young African leader. “Your profile stood out, and we can’t wait to welcome you as one of this year’s Bridgers!” and so my journey of inspiration, networking, collaboration and learning in Morocco began. “The Bridge Africa Summit is a key annual gathering where leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts come together to spark new ideas, create synergies, and strengthen Africa’s global influence.” When I read this description, I knew that the summit would be an opportunity to further expand my network of leaders who are truly invested in the potential of the African continent.
The summit delivered! I made genuine connections. The best yet most unexpected part was the impressive emphasis on action which was a recurring theme throughout the panel discussions, plenary sessions and group work. Here are some key takeaways from the sessions;
- As African countries host major sporting events such as the Youth Games in Dakar (2026) and the FIFA World Cup in Morocco (2030), they should weigh their objectives. We have an opportunity to think beyond common goals such as boosting local tourism in the short-term and consider establishing systems for long-term sporting infrastructure improvements. As Bridgers, we questioned how we are positioning ourselves to benefit economically from these tournaments. – Sport as a Catalyst for Africa’s Development by Phillipe Blanchard, (Founder & CEO, Futurous)
- When you launch a social impact initiative, speak the language of finance as fluently as you speak the language of development so that you can scale your impact. Additionally, communities should not just be beneficiaries of innovation, they should be its authors. Put simply, adopt a people-centred approach early on so that you do not destabilise the community you wish to support. – Social Innovation as Systemic Change by Lahcen Tighoula, Sokayna El Allam and Hamid Mernaoui
- Entrepreneurship in Africa has been clouded by ambiguous terms. Get clarity on what entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation and growth mindset mean so that you can work towards clear indicators. Even though businesses are driven by profit, investors in Africa buy into the bigger picture so promise more than profit. Lastly, while its important to learn from global venture capital and business models and systems, practice value adaptation over value adoption in Africa’s unique contexts. – Unlocking African Entrepreneurship by Lamiaa Beddi (UM6P), Ajibola Odukoya (AfriLabs), Fay Cowper (The Forge) and Radouane Oudrhiri (Africa Business School)
- Several Bridgers expressed that as their careers evolve, they have been fortunate enough to experience increased mobility which inevitably triggers the feeling of being a foreigner, even in their home countries. My favourite, relatable lesson from this informative and inspiring session was that accepting the permanent feeling of foreignness means that it can be used in art to create beautiful and complex forms of expression. – Collective Memories and Identities in Motion Panel & Collaborative Artwork by Badr El Hammami
In the group sessions, we chose thematic areas to develop calls to action addressed at various stakeholders. In the “Youth and Skills” group, we developed some calls to action directed at governments, ministries, education-focused civil society organisations and private sector companies which the entire group of Bridgers endorsed on the last day. The calls to action covered the need for economically and technologically relevant curricula and career guidance, increased incentives in the education ecosystem, multi-stakeholder makerspaces and the reduction of the gap between theoretical knowledge acquisition and the skills demands of the job market. We also designed projects that can either start or be scaled in our countries with the support of UM6P and its partners. Watch this space!
I recently heard this statement; Over-ambitious people tend to underestimate the influence of a hostile environment on their goals. They think that they can outwork it, outmanoeuvre it or outsmart it but the environment always wins. I am grateful to University Mohammed VI Polytechnic‘s Bridge Africa Summit for giving young African leaders a conducive environment, community and resources to build meaningful projects that spark transformation in their communities and globally.
