"Digitalization is our catalyst to continuously create meaningful connections." - Mayssa Mrabet

Mayssa Mrabet is the Director of Communications at AfriLabs . Her professional journey commenced with a passion for fostering innovation by overseeing the pre-investment processes of an impact investment fund and acceleration program. Subsequently, she assumed a leadership role in a sector-agnostic incubator, offering support to aspiring entrepreneurs and startups. Mayssa also facilitated the development of over 300 projects towards investment readiness and orchestrated pre-seed funding opportunities for 130 startups.

As a dedicated problem solver, her commitment extends to finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced by emerging entrepreneurs and startups. Her professional pursuits are underpinned by a profound desire to create a lasting impact, particularly through the empowerment of youth and women in the entrepreneurial space.?

Mayssa holds a steadfast belief in the transformative power of entrepreneurship to shape the future of the continent. Today, she is honored to have assumed her role of Director of the Community at AfriLabs, marking the culmination of many years of active involvement within this remarkable network.?

In her prior capacity as a Hub Manager, she gained an intimate understanding of AfriLabs, witnessing firsthand the shared opportunities and challenges across numerous African countries.

With a bold goal to achieve a membership scale of 10,000, a strategic transformation is imperative. Leveraging her extensive 12 years of experience in digital transformation, she is poised to spearhead a comprehensive digitalization strategy for processes and the implementation of a platform designed to genuinely enhance community members' ability to engage and interact effectively.

HER NETWORK: You have over 12 years of experience in digital transformation and have recently joined the Afrilabs Team with a vision to increase the membership scale to 10,000. How do you intend to leverage your vast experience to achieve this goal?

MAYSSA: I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to leverage my over 12 years of experience in digital transformation to help Afrilabs achieve its goal of increasing membership to 10,000. Digitalization provides us with the invaluable opportunity to implement agile and automated processes, allowing us to exponentially expand our network while efficiently managing with limited resources, thereby unlocking the full potential of our network’s growth.

Our extensive network comprises over 400 technological hubs, and digitalization is our catalyst to continuously create meaningful connections, bridging geographically distant ecosystems to foster impactful collaborations within our network.

During the last AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Kigali, AfriConnect 2.0 platform was launched with an ambitious goal to onboard innovation ecosystems not only from Africa but also from around the world onto this platform, marking a pivotal step in fostering global collaboration and innovation.

HER NETWORK: What’s your life mantra?

MAYSSA: Work is not a Job, it’s a mission, it’s passion. To have made the choice to embark on a career within NGOs, where the core mission revolves around empowering people. My happiness and energy truly blossomed when I witnessed that my daily work was not only positively impacting the professional journeys of individuals but also enriching their personal lives.

HER NETWORK: If you could share one tip for effective community engagement, what would it be?

MAYSSA: Identifying and effectively responding to the real needs of the community remains the one tip to focus on to properly generate engagement. But I would add that creating a safe environment for open exchange and continuous learning and nurturing a sense of ownership among every member is equally important.