Moroccan Nizar Berdai (pictured), 25, is becoming a model of student entrepreneurship. He owns two startups: WeMash Digital, which specializes in digital transformation, and Wsselni Maak, which is a ride-sharing solution. This year, the young entrepreneur who is currently pursuing a master's degree in strategy and finance at Sciences Po Paris wants to focus on expanding his car-sharing solution.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Nizar Berdai obtained a bachelor's degree in Salé, Morocco, then moved to Canada in 2015 to study finance and political science at HEC Montreal and McGill University. He was very active in the community and was a member of the Quebec Youth Parliament.

The idea to create a business came up to him while he was preparing for his master's degree at ESSEC Paris. He then created WeMash Digital, a startup specialized in communication consulting and digital transformation. Very quickly, he landed contracts with clients including Moroccan public sector organizations and NGOs such as Oxfam Morocco. At the same time, he refined a carpooling project and launched in February 2021, Wsselni Maak.

The student currently enrolled in a Master 2 in Finance and Strategy, at Sciences Po Paris, claimed Wsselni Maak receives an average of 450 offers and requests per day. In less than a year, the startup has more than 20,000 users in Rabat, Salé, Témara, Casablanca, Agadir, and Fez.

Nizar Berdai is now working to increase the service’s user base through partnerships with companies that will be announced, he says, in the coming days.

Aïsha Moyouzame