Morocco: Saloua Karkri Belkeziz, an inveterate entrepreneur

Saloua Karkri Belkeziz is a Moroccan woman entrepreneur in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and digital. She is the current president of Inetum Africa, former GFI, and the founder of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco (AFEM).

Saloua Karkri Belkeziz is a talented Moroccan entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship. In 1987, at the age of just 25, she founded Professional Systems, a digital service company dedicated to computer systems and support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Small and Medium Industries (SMIs).

In just a few years, this computer science graduate from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in France, managed to hoist her company, created with very little means, among the flourishing companies in the digital sector in Morocco. In 1999, she opened the capital of her company to the multinational GFI Informatique, which acquired it. This propelled her in 2003 to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GFI Informatique Maroc, which she held for 15 years. In a few years, the company achieved a high level of performance. It accelerated its growth by integrating several Moroccan companies, including Value Team, Capital consulting, Archos technologies, among others. In 2019, GFI Maroc had 600 employees and a turnover of MAD 320 million. In January 2019, the businesswoman became the President of Inetum Africa, former GFI, established in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and which currently has 900 employees for a turnover of 42 million euros.

Promotion of female entrepreneurship

As an entrepreneur, she is committed to women’s entrepreneurship. Having noticed a low presence of women entrepreneurs in professional organisations, she founded in 2000 the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco (AFEM), the first association of its kind in Morocco. From 2000 to 2006, she chaired the association whose mission is to promote women’s entrepreneurship, to encourage the creation of businesses by women in Morocco, to promote the image of women entrepreneurs in Morocco and abroad, to represent women entrepreneurs in decision-making circles and to act as a source of proposals for power networks. She has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) since 2002. From 2016 to 2020, she was also President of APEBI, the Federation of Information Technology, Telecommunications and Offshoring, which counts 250 companies.

In addition to her career as an entrepreneur, she has also been involved in politics. From 2007 to 2011, she was a member of the House of Representatives, notably the Productive Sectors Committee and the Finance Committee.

In 2004, Saloua Karkri Belkeziz was decorated with the Wissam El Arch by His Majesty King Mohamed VI and the same year was elevated to the rank of « Chevalier de l’ordre du Mérite of France ».