By focusing on collaboration and technology, he offers an alternative path for supporting African entrepreneurs. His initiative is helping to structure new networks of opportunities across the continent.

Karim Sy, a Senegalese entrepreneur and business angel, is the founder and chief catalyst of Jokkolabs, an independent, non-profit organization that operates as a global open-innovation network and virtual cluster for social transformation.

Founded in 2010, Jokkolabs supports entrepreneurs by providing resources, mentorship, and a collaborative environment to help them grow. The organization runs a network of hubs across Africa and France, including locations in Dakar, Banjul, Ouagadougou, Bamako, Douala, Ziguinchor, Abidjan, and Nanterre.

Through its physical spaces and digital platform, Jokkolabs connects entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators. It offers coworking spaces, workshops, hackathons, and collaborative events, and also manages working groups. Its online learning platform, Jokkolabs Academy, provides digital training programs. The network targets startups, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and actors in the digital, creative, and innovation sectors.

Alongside his work at Jokkolabs, Sy serves as a special adviser to the Chamber of Commerce and Investment for Africa, Russia, and Eurasia (CCI Africa Russia & Eurasia). In 2020, he co-founded Black Elephant, a think tank and collaborative ecosystem launched during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Sy holds a college diploma in pure and applied sciences from the Petit Séminaire de Québec in Canada (1990) and a degree in computer science from Polytechnique Montréal (1994).

In 2010, he joined the executive committee of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Two years later, he became a board member of the Free and Open Source Software Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA), where he also serves as the liaison officer for Senegal.

Between 2010 and 2019, Sy held various roles at Maarch, a software publishing company, including board member, president, and general administrator. From 2018 to 2021, he sat on the board of Digital Africa, an initiative launched by French President Emmanuel Macron to support African entrepreneurship. Between 2021 and 2023, he also served on the board of Westlink Africa, a company specializing in the engineering, supply, and financing of large-scale telecommunications projects across the continent.

Melchior Koba