The Mauritanian Entrepreneur's Marathon: Providing New Opportunites for Young People

Many young people in Mauritania are turning to entrepreneurship as a possible career path, but struggle with the funding and guidance to develop a start-up.  In a study done by the Mauritania Center for Policy Analysis in 2003, it was found that 75% of Mauritanian young people aspire to create their own business but only 22% feel prepared to do so.  To combat this difference, the World Bank joined with the Ministry of the Economy of Mauritania and Hadina RIMTIC to produce a competition for Mauritanian young people called the Entrepreneur's Marathon.   

The Attendees of the Caravan in Boghé

In order to increase awareness of the competition in a country that is largely rural, program leaders went to many small villages to promote the competition and the spirit on entrepreneurship to young people.  This effort was called the Entrepreneur's Caravan. The caravan reached almost 3,000 people, including many young women who aspire to be entrepreneurs. In a picture of those attending the Caravan in Boghé, Mauritania, 9 of 25 attendees were female.  They were also able to reach tens of thousands of Mauritanians on social media.  

Moustapha Sall, a participant in the Marathon, with his project.

With a focus on climate change, the young people competing were encouraged to find creative solutions to the environmental problems faced in their community and submit their ideas to the program.  Twenty winning products were selected from a pool of over 200 applicants and included a solar-powered refrigerator, a solar lamp from recycled materials, and a manual drill to gain access to water 40m below the ground.  The winning entrepreneurs were given access to training, advising, and other benefits towards their start-ups. Four entrepreneurs also received $2,800 in funding towards their efforts. Due to the success with the first Entrepreneur Marathon in 2016, another was done in 2018 and continues to provide opportunity for innovation to the young people of Mauritania.

Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/06/28/no-stone-left-unturned-how-the-world-bank-group-is-inspiring-a-new-generation-of-entrepreneurs-in-mauritania