About the Event
On the occasion of International Women's Day, Northeastern's Africa Global Initiative and the Center for Emerging Markets hosted the next chapter in the Africa Speaker Series: Women Who Empower Africa.
A continent of over one billion people, thousands of languages, dozens of countries, and a median age of 19.5, Africa is full of opportunities. Africa's potential as a growth market for business remains underestimated—as does the potential for business to play a transformative role in solving the continent's biggest challenges.
During this event, Rania Belkahia, Partner at EQT Ventures and Co-founder of Afrimarket, an e-commerce platform for French-speaking West Africa, discussed her entrepreneurial journey on the continent and the next chapter in her engagement with Africa.
About Rania Belkahia
Rania Belkahia is a Partner at EQT Ventures where she is responsible for driving all deals in France and works closely with their portfolio companies. Rania brings her first-hand experience in B2C e-commerce marketplaces, international scaling, and operational strategy to help fellow entrepreneurs get started on their own journeys.
Prior to joining EQT Ventures, Rania co-founded and led Afrimarket, an e-commerce platform for French-speaking West Africa. Rania scaled the company to more than 250 employees, five subsidiaries, and raised €20 million. She has received multiple awards, including ELLE and the Comptoir pour l'Innovation's Impact2, and was nominated among the 30 women of 2014 by the Women's forum. A graduate of Telecom ParisTech and HEC Paris, Rania is passionate about entrepreneurship and the opportunity to back the next generation of founders coming out of France.
Center for Emerging Markets Events
Africa Speaker Series
The Africa Speaker Series explores business, social, and developmental issues in this diverse continent with the youngest and fastest-growing population. From time to time, events in this series are co-organized with Northeastern University's Africa Global Initiative.