Dounia Bou-mehdi

General Info

The Top Three Things I Would Like to Learn or Experience During my Mentorship

1. Discover new innovative business models to duplicate back home
2. Improve my skills in mentoring entrepreneurs
3. Meet private equity operators, especially VC funds, in the ICT sector

Ideal Company Type

My ideal company will be a venture capital fund in the ICT sector or active in other sectors with high growth potential. It is a firm with ambitious partners who set up and support legendary founders and one that works closely with entrepreneurs and helps them to be THE innovators for tomorrow. It may also be a company that raised funds with VC firms and became a huge success story.

What impact will your mentorship have on your career and professional path?

This program will provide me with tools and best practices to embrace my role in the entrepreneur community. My main interest is the human experience I'll have access to. Interactions with other women at different levels of responsibility will allow the exchange of views and best practices in everyday situations. The diversity of backgrounds and nationalities will also undeniably have a positive impact on the program's participants. Meeting and interacting with venture capital teams on profession-specific issues like fundraising and mentoring entrepreneurs will provide me with new management tools that can be adapted to my local context.

What will be your most valuable contribution to your TechWomen host company?

Coming from an emerging market, challenges and milestones are completely different. Exchanging ideas with the managers of my host company could give them another perspective on work in different markets, but also introduce them to the realities of prospective markets they might be interested in.

After participating in the TechWomen program, how will you leverage your mentorship experience to make an impact in your home country?

Given that I am already involved in many mentoring initiatives with organizations such as ENACTUS and Start Up Maroc, I am eager to perfect my mentoring skills in order to have maximum impact and provide the best guidance to my mentees. My main goal once back home is to set up a think tank of the most influential women in the ICT sector to come up with the best ways to simplify entrepreneurs' lives, act as a bridge with authorities to make entrepreneurs' voices heard and get government support and funding.

Work History

Years of Full-time Work Experience

15

Primary Professional Focus

• Educational technology
• Individual contributor leading innovation

Education History

Highest Level of Education Completed

Master's