Fueling Africa’s Tech Talent: A New Playbook for Venture Capital and Founders

June 29, 2026

Africa’s tech ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade, drawing increasing global interest while facing persistent structural challenges. In this episode, Maria Rotilu, Founding Partner at Openseed VC, shares insights on how venture capital can be better aligned with local realities, the importance of developing and retaining talent, and the need to strengthen collaboration across the ecosystem. The discussion highlights that sustainable innovation in Africa will depend not only on funding, but also on investing in skills, mentorship, and inclusive capacity-building to translate momentum into long-term economic impact.

Speakers
Ahmed Ouhnini
Economist, Policy Center for the New South
Ahmed Ouhnini is an Economist at the Policy Center for the New South. His research area covers agricultural economics, human and social development. Previously, he has worked as a researcher at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and has also a record of working in consulting services in Morocco. Ahmed holds an engineering Diploma in Agriculture and Rural Development from the National School of Agriculture of Meknes and a Master’s Degree in Law, Economics and Management from the Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne Institute of Development. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    March 29, 2023
    يبين معدل نشاط المرأة المغربية1 انخفاضا أصبح هيكليا على مدى السنوات العشرين الماضية. وتزداد حدة هذا الانخفاض نظرا لضعف مستوى هذا المعدل، الذي يعتبر من بين أدنى المعدلات في العالم. ومع ذلك، تم تنفيذ العديد من الإصلاحات والبرامج والإجراأت أو يجري تنفيذها لتحسين ظروف المرأة، اقتصاديا واجتماعيا، وفي المناطق الحضرية والريفية. هل نواجه ظاهرة مجتمعية أم مجرد مشاكل تتعلق بالنمو الاقتصادي؟ ما هي الدروس التي يمكن استخلاصها من مختلف الدراسات والتحليلات التي أجريت في هذا الاتجاه وما هي الأدوات ...
  • Authors
    March 29, 2023
    The activity rate of Moroccan women (*) has been on a structural decline for some twenty years. This trend is all the more critical given its low level, regarded as one of the lowest in the world. And yet, a host of reforms, programs and actions have been implemented or are underway to improve the condition of women, both economically and socially, and in both urban and rural areas. Are we dealing with a societal phenomenon or simply with economic growth issues? What lessons can we ...
  • Authors
    March 29, 2023
    Le taux d’activité des femmes marocaines (*) affiche un déclin devenu structurel depuis une vingtaine d’années. Ce déclin est encore plus critique vu le faible niveau de ce taux, considéré parmi les plus bas à l’échelle mondiale. Pourtant, plusieurs réformes, programmes et actions ont été menés ou sont en cours de déploiement pour améliorer les conditions de la femme, aussi bien au niveau économique que social, et dans les milieux urbain et rural. Sommes-nous face a ...
  • March 28, 2023
    كشفت دراسة نشرتها المنظمة الدولية للهجرة حول العاملات الموسميات بعد انتهاء مدة إقامتهن في إسبانيا والعودة إلى المغرب، أن أكثر من 83٪ من النساء يدعمن أسرة مالياً. وقد تم إجراء العديد من ال ...
  • Authors
    Zakaria Elouaourti
    March 15, 2023
    The aims of this article were twofold. First, to tackle the issue of convergence from an analytical point of view by presenting the mathematical developments of the main economic growth models, which emphasized that the convergence of African economies is conditional to the investment level in the early stages of physical capital accumulation. As the latter increases, the convergence of African economies is determined by other factors (investment in research and development (R&D ...
  • Authors
    February 28, 2023
    This publication was originally published on https://www.euromesco.net/   The Moroccan job market offers few opportunities for young non-educated Moroccans. With the rise of the internet, many Moroccans sought to find new ways to generate an income and find financial stability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise of Moroccan entrepreneurs in e-commerce and dropshipping and a dramatic increase of motivational and educational content that aims at en ...
  • October 13, 2022
    Le réservoir de jeunes dans la région représente une mine à exploiter. Cependant, l’effet de dividende démographique reste confronter dans la région à de multiples défis. Il reste subordonné à la capacité d’accélérer le processus des réformes en mesure d’améliorer l'environnement d...