Benin: Aurelle Noutahi, co-founder of an African image bank

Aurelle Noutahi is a young Beninese entrepreneur passionate about digital technology. She is the co-founder of Iwaria, a free image bank dedicated to make available non-stereotypical images of Africa.

Aurelle Noutahi holds a Master’s degree in human resources management. Long before getting her degree, she embarked into entrepreneurship. In 2012, she founded a 100% handmade jewelry creation company. Two years later, she co-founded Pikiz, an all-in-one solution for marketing with images. She also founded « Queezly », an app to quickly create interactive content such as quizzes, polls, personality tests…

In 2016, she co-founded Iwaria with a friend. The project is a completely free image database on Africa. By making available high definition images of Africa, the young entrepreneur aims to change the negative perceptions about Africa conveyed online through stereotypical photos presenting Africa, in particular as a poor place where cities lack infrastructures, where wars are constantly raging and children are dying of hunger …

To counter these clichés about Africa, Iwaria.com offers a rich database of high definition images taken in different countries. The images are freely accessible and are structured around different themes: education, sport, leadership, transportation, food, women, beauty, landscape, nature, health, corporate life…

In March 2020, the platform launched the 1st edition of the Iwaria Contest, under the theme « The beautiful and hard-working African woman ». The objective being to promote the creation of royalty-free visual content specific to the African continent. 

In addition to managing her company, she held the position of Program Officer at EtriLabs where she was responsible for the planning, management, implementation, monitoring and coordination of the organization’s programs and activities from 2017 to 2019. Since 2019, she is the Program Director of EtriLabs. She is also an instructor for the WHISPA program, a project that trains girls and women in computer programming, design and digital marketing.