African Economic Leaders: 9 Moroccans Named Among Top 100 by Choiseul Institute

This distinction reveals young African leaders under 40 who play or are called upon to play a major role in the economic development of the continent in the near future. The laureates are identified thanks to a committee of experts and specialists of the continent who take into account a certain number of criteria including image and reputation, career and skills, power and function, influence and networks, potential and leadership.

According to the same source, the total points accumulated in the different categories of the aforementioned criteria indicate the ranking of each of the laureates in the final ranking. The top 100 are ranked from 1st to 100th place. In addition, a second list takes into account 100 additional profiles ranked between 101st and 200th place in three different categories: three stars, two stars and one star. In total, 17 Moroccans are selected, including 4 women and 13 men, by the study as of September 30, 2020.

In the first ranking, 9 Moroccans, including one woman, appear: Badr Alioua, Chairman of the Executive Board of Wafasalaf (8th place); Marouane Ameziane, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development of the OCP Group (19th); Abdellatif Kabbaj, CEO of Softgroup (26th); Saad Sefrioui, Deputy Managing Director of the Addoha Group (28th); Sarah Kerroumi, Secretary General of Ynna Holding (36th); Ibrahim Belkora, CEO of Agro Juice Processing (51st); Mehdi Alj, Chairman and CEO of Sanam Agro (66th); Mehdi Bennouna, CEO of the Mutandis group (78th); and Naoufel Ghafir, CEO Morocco, Tunisia, West Africa AXA Partners (79th).

As for the second list, it takes into account eight Moroccans, including three women. These are Najwa El Iraki, Founder and CEO of AfricaDev Consulting Ltd (108th place; three stars); Hamza Kabbaj, CEO of SGTM (111th, three stars); Rachid Kettani, Chief Financial Officer of Attijariwafa Bank (114th, three stars); Karim Beqqali, CEO of Yamed Capital (127th, two stars); Anis Sefrioui, CEO of Arena Property Development (141st, two stars); Nawfal Terrab, CEO of NT Global Invest (144th, two stars); Loubna Tricha, CEO of the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT) (148th, two stars); and Meryam El Ouafi, CEO of Green Engineering Mission (164th, one star).