Tomorocco Podcast

Épisodes disponibles

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#17 - Yacine Zerkdi (AI71): Life Lessons from Agadir to Harvard, Google and Building the new LLM giant in the UAE
❤️ Big thanks to Notion for supporting this podcast. If you’re an entrepreneur preparing for a fundraise or looking to structure your startup, Notion is the ultimate tool for you.Sign up using our link here: https://ntn.so/tomorocco ❤️You’ll get 6 months of Notion’s Business Plan for free—with Notion AI included—worth up to $12,000 in value.Notion is the connected workspace trusted by over 50% of Y Combinator startups and 94% of the Forbes AI 50. One single tool to manage everything: product roadmap, docs, CRM, investor updates, internal wikis—you name it.–Welcome to Tomorocco. Today, I’m joined by Yacine Zerkdi. Born in Agadir, Yacine studied in France before earning his MBA from Harvard. He worked at Google in London and Dubai, and is now based in Abu Dhabi, leading strategic partnerships at a cutting-edge AI startup called AI71, alongside Mehdi Ghissassi, a former DeepMind researcher and one of Morocco’s leading AI figures.His story is remarkable because nothing was guaranteed. Yacine originally wanted to finish school in a Moroccan lycée in Agadir, but life took him to France, and key encounters led him to Harvard. In this episode, he shares how he funded his $200,000 MBA and built a career that spans continents and technologies.I’m thrilled to share this conversation with you. It’s a journey of grit, merit, and global ambition—sure to inspire.If you enjoy this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and leave a comment or review, it helps a lot!
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#16: Assil Bernossi (Userguest): Lessons from Scaling a SaaS business in Morocco & How to Adapt an International Business in Morocco
Dans cet épisode de Tomorocco, on reçoit Assil Bernossi, cofondateur de Userguest, une startup fondée à Amsterdam par des marocains qui aide les hôtels à augmenter leurs réservations directes et à se libérer de leur dépendance à Booking.com et Expedia.Après une carrière entre la France et les Pays-Bas dans le marketing digital et l’industrie hôtelière, Assil Bernossi a cofondé Userguest en 2018 avec une mission claire : combler le fossé entre les hôtels indépendants et la technologie. Grâce à une plateforme SaaS intelligente, il permet aux hôteliers d’améliorer leur performance en ligne avec des outils jusqu’ici réservés aux géants du secteur.Basée à l’international, l’équipe de Userguest s’est ensuite étendue au Maroc, où elle a recruté des talents tech locaux pour accompagner sa croissance. Depuis, la solution est utilisée dans plus de 30 pays.Au programme :- Comment scaler une startup SaaS B2B à l’international depuis l’Europe- Comment adapter un produit aux réalités du marché marocain- Les plus grosses erreurs de recrutement tech à éviter au Maroc- Leur approche pour automatiser le marketing hôtelier avec un fort ROI- Le futur du travel tech et des ventes directes pour les hôtelsSi vous appréciez cet épisode, n’oubliez pas de vous abonner, de liker et de laisser un commentaire ! Vous avez aimé cet épisode ? Laissez-nous un avis et partagez-le avec votre entourage !Abonnez-vous au podcast :Instagram : (https://www.instagram.com/tomoroccomedia)LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/tomorocco/Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@tomoroccomediaPartenaire de l’épisode :Cet épisode est sponsorisé par AlloGarant🔗 Découvrez leur plateforme : http://allogarant.com/#Userguest #StartupMarocaine #SaaS #TravelTech #Booking #HotelTech #Maroc #RemoteWork #StartupAfrica #Tomorocco #AssilBernossi #DirectBookings #HotelMarketing #TechEntrepreneur #ConversionOptimization
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#15: Yassine Regragui (Wordline) is Alibaba's first Moroccan employee: Why is China doing it 10x faster than any other country? What's next in Fintech in Morocco?
🇨🇳 China is building the future at lightning speed, faster than any other country. Yassine Regragui is the first Moroccan employee of China's Alibaba Group/Alipay, and a true fintech expert with +6 years spent in Shanghai.𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲: → Why is China doing it 10x faster than any other country? →How did China became such a tech powerhouse ? →What can Morocco learn from its playbook? →What is the natural next step for Morocco's fintech ecosystem?…And much more!Yassine is especially well-placed to discuss such matters having lived it as an insider. He launched and led the multilingual version of the Alipay app for non-Chinese users. Currently, he heads product strategy and marketing at Worldline, a global fintech player.
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#14 - Amine Raji - SporeBio : Qarawin, le premier collectif mondial de chercheurs et investisseurs deeptech marocains
Dans cet épisode, je reçois Amine Raji, fondateur de Spore.Bio et cofondateur de Qarawin, une initiative ambitieuse qui vise à redéfinir le paysage scientifique marocain en rassemblant les talents deep tech de demain.Qarawin est née de la volonté de redonner à la science au Maroc toute la grandeur qu’elle mérite. Son nom rend hommage à la première université du monde, fondée à Fès par une femme, et incarne la vision de rassembler les meilleurs scientifiques marocains pour les propulser sur la scène internationale.Dans cet épisode, Amine dévoile les raisons derrière la création de Qarawin, comment cette initiative entend faire émerger la première licorne deeptech marocaine, et les défis qu’ils ont surmontés pour bâtir ce projet. Découvrez aussi l’impact qu’il aura sur l’innovation au Maroc et au-delà.Si vous aimez cet épisode, n’oubliez pas de vous abonner, de laisser un commentaire et de partager avec votre réseau !
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#13 - Ali Mokhtar - Beltone VC - the Egyptian VC betting big on Morocco
In this new episode of Tomorocco, I’m joined by one of the key players shaping the future of venture capital in the MENA region — Ali Mokhtar.Ali is the CEO and Managing Partner of Beltone Venture Capital, the VC arm of Beltone Holding — one of the largest and most established investment banks in the Middle East, listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.He spent over a decade at Beltone, climbing the ranks from corporate finance to managing $1.4 billion in public equities across the region. Then, he made a bold pivot — joining the founding team of Talabeyah, a B2B e-commerce platform that was acquired just 18 months later by Egyptian unicorn MNT-Halan.In 2023, Ali returned to Beltone to launch its venture capital division.Since then, the venture capital practice led over 17 investments across Egypt, Saudi, the UAE and Morocco — deploying capital through a hybrid strategy that blends traditional VC bets with investments in tech-enabled SMEs.In this episode, we explore what excites him about Morocco, how he sees the region evolving, and where the next breakout opportunities could come from.SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Allo Garant, the trusted platform that helps international students find secure and comfortable housing when moving to France. Whether you're from Cairo, Casablanca, Lagos or Beirut — finding a place to live shouldn't be the hardest part of studying abroad. With Allo Garant, students land with peace of mind, not paperwork.Visit allogarant.com to learn more.Enjoyed the episode?Leave a rating, share it with a friend, and tell us your favorite moment in the comments!📩 Want to sponsor an episode?Contact me: [email protected]#Entrepreneurship #Startups #Morocco #Egypt #Innovation #AI #Tech #Tomorocco
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