Forbes MENA featured seven Moroccan names from different fields and with different backgrounds in its list of the region’s 120 most impactful young innovators.
The list placed famous football players Azzedine Ounahi and Sofyan Amrabat among the region’s best names in the entertainment industry. The two players’ popularity noticed a significant hike during and after the Qatar World Cup, putting them under a wider scope.
Two Moroccan artists were also included on the list: Zineb Wakrim, a director, and vocalist Faouzia Ouihya. Raised in Canada, Faouzia has established a successful career alongside some of the biggest stars in the music world. Meanwhile, Wakrim won a prize for her short film “Ayyur” at the most recent Cannes Film Festival.
In science and technology, Zakaria Azemzi and Abdelaziz El Aiachi made the cut. Cofounders of AZA Petrosolutions, the 28-year-old creatives specialize, through AZA, in creating software and hardware solutions for the petroleum industry.
Their company has developed a system that uses data analytics to optimize fuel consumption and reduce waste and costs for businesses.
AZA’s products are currently used in over 1.100 petrol stations across Morocco, with over 86 clients, including VIVO Energy Maroc, TotalEnergies Maroc, and OLA Energy Maroc.
Lastly, in commerce and finance, co-founder and COO of sunglasses company, LNKO, Malak Bennani was the only Moroccan name featured in this category. Bennani cofounded the brand with her sister back in 2020. Today, the company has 12 points of sale and plans to open three actual stores in Morocco by the end of 2023.
LNKO now has over 70.000 clients across 24 countries and is currently expanding in the West African market and is active in seven countries, including Morocco, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Congo, DRC, and Mauritania. It has raised $1 million in funding from CDG Invest (Morocco’s pension fund), Sanabil 500 MENA Seed Accelerator, and Launch Africa.
Social impact is the only “30 under 30” category with no Moroccan presence.
Forbes’s main key take on the list this year is that 29.6% of the “Under 30s” are based in the U.A.E. and 24.8% in Egypt, 26.6 is the average age of those who made the cut and the youngest is 15. Additionally, 30% of the Under 30s are Egyptians.
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