Mauritanian technology incubators receive world-class mentoring in the Canary Islands

The visit, which ran from April 21 to 25, was organized by Proexca, through its area Invest in the Canary Islands, in collaboration with the Mauritania-Spain Business Council (CAMES).

During their stay, the Mauritanian delegates were guided by María Victoria Cairós, an expert in mentoring and promoting innovative entrepreneurship. The training featured a practical approach, utilizing real-life success stories from innovation centers and accelerators in the Canary Islands. Participants had the opportunity to analyze in detail the strategies, operating models, and key factors that have contributed to the success of these organizations.

The agenda included visits and presentations by prominent Canarian organizations such as NANOTec, the Tenerife Technology Park, the Canary Islands Cluster of Technological Excellence, the Technology Park of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), the EMERGE Foundation, Mentor Day, the spin-off Formaché, the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society (Aciisi), Sodecan, Archipiélago Next and the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

A crucial component of the mission was the division of participants into working groups to develop concrete proposals focused on the Mauritanian context. Applying the tools and methodologies learned, each group evaluated the Mauritania's entrepreneurial ecosystem and designed specific strategies for the implementation of an accelerator in the African country.

The main objective of this initiative was not only to help participants understand the inner workings of accelerators, but also to acquire practical skills to adapt them to their local context. The goal was to foster the generation of concrete and strategic ideas to boost entrepreneurship in Mauritania.

This mission underlines the strengthening of business relations between the Canary Islands and Mauritania, promoting intercontinental collaboration and expansion of opportunities for companies and institutions in both regions.

This effort comes in a favorable economic context for Mauritania, where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects 4,2% growth for 2025, driven primarily by the commissioning of a major gas project.