The Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), alongside the EU Delegation to Morocco and Belgium’s international cooperation agency, Enabel, have announced the conclusion of the “Link up Africa” initiative. The 38-month program, celebrated at a closing ceremony in Rabat, focused on developing entrepreneurship skills for young Africans and strengthening South-South cooperation.
Quick Facts
- 1,800+ students reached via workshops
- 141 project holders received direct support
- 4,400+ total hours of training delivered
- 11 startups entered intensive incubation
A Trilateral Push for African Talent
Funded by the European Union, Link up Africa was a joint Morocco-EU initiative designed to support talent from Sub-Saharan African partner countries. The program was executed by AMCI and Enabel, operating on two parallel tracks: reinforcing academic and technical South-South cooperation, and creating economic opportunities for African students and graduates trained in Morocco by helping them build businesses.
“His Majesty King Mohammed VI has made South-South cooperation a strategic axis of the Kingdom of Morocco’s foreign policy,” said Ambassador Mohamed Methqal, Director General of AMCI. He emphasized that Morocco’s approach is based on active solidarity, win-win partnerships, and knowledge sharing to contribute to sustainable development across the continent.
The program also delivered capacity-building initiatives for 317 professionals from 42 African nations, with training sessions in Morocco focused on strategic areas like climate change, food security, and renewable energy.
From Workshops to Incubation
The initiative’s entrepreneurship track provided a comprehensive support pipeline, starting with awareness and leading to full incubation.
More than 1,800 students from 35 African countries participated in entrepreneurship workshops held across Morocco. From this pool, the program provided 141 project holders with support through bootcamps and pitch sessions. A select group of 41 participants received masterclasses and individual mentoring, culminating in 11 founders from seven African nations entering an intensive incubation phase.
To bolster the broader ecosystem, the project mapped 266 key players across six African countries and developed pre-incubation and incubation tools, including an e-learning platform.
Building Bridges for the Future
A key component of the initiative was strengthening the “Morocco Alumni” network, which connects African graduates from Moroccan higher education institutions. Meetings were organized in Comoros, Senegal, Mauritania, and Djibouti to reinforce these ties.
“The Link up Africa project shows that when the European Union, Morocco, and their African partners unite their expertise and ambitions, they create much more than just a project; they build sustainable opportunities for generations of African talent,” noted Daniel Duto, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Morocco.
The conclusion of Link up Africa marks a new stage, not an end. The partners have already launched a new joint regional project, MobiSud (Talent Mobility in the framework of South-South Cooperation), which will build on the foundations laid by its predecessor to enhance human, academic, and economic links between Morocco and its African partners.
About Link up Africa
Link up Africa was a collaborative initiative funded by the European Union and implemented by the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) and the Belgian Agency for International Cooperation (Enabel). Its primary goal was to promote youth entrepreneurship and strengthen South-South cooperation by providing training, mentorship, and incubation opportunities for African students and graduates in Morocco.
Source: Almaghreb24
