Moroccan Engineer Named a Finalist for Women in Web3 Award
Born in France to Moroccan parents, Sajida Zouarhi wanted to use computer science to help patients waiting for a kidney transplant. Ten years after her first work on the project, the engineer is one of five finalists for an international regional award recognizing women in technology.
Two patients are waiting for a transplant. Each has a loved one willing to donate a kidney, but the donor is incompatible with them. What if the donors could swap recipients, making both transplants possible? This is the idea behind Kidner, a project Sajida Zouarhi conceived to help match donors with recipients.
Her idea is to connect hospitals using blockchain, a technology for securely sharing data. By expanding searches across borders, Kidner aims to increase the chances of finding compatible donors. The young engineer presented the project in 2015, when she was a researcher at Orange Labs.
The initiative caught the technology sector’s attention. In 2019, specialist magazine Maddyness named her one of the ten women to watch in French innovation.
International recognition for Moroccan engineer
Born in Paris and raised in the Paris region, Sajida Zouarhi is of Moroccan origin. After her studies, she joined Orange Labs in 2014 and became passionate about blockchain. She later helped create BlockFest, a French event devoted to the technology, before taking on roles at ConsenSys and Blocknative.
Her career has now earned her further recognition. Sajida Zouarhi is one of five finalists for the “Woman in Web3” award at the Women in Tech MENA Awards 2026, which recognizes women’s contributions to decentralized technologies.
The selection is organized across the Middle East and North Africa. This year, it recognizes several Moroccan professionals in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to entrepreneurship.
The regional ceremony is scheduled to take place in Cairo on November 14. If Sajida Zouarhi wins her category, she will advance to the global final of the Women in Tech Awards, scheduled for Paris on December 3.
