We Inspire
We light a fire in young people… by training them to see opportunities that others miss, giving them the confidence to view themselves as entrepreneurs not employees and job creators instead of job seekers. We do it by delivering a best-in-class leadership and entrepreneurship program.
We Invest
We go all in … by providing a full life-cycle of support to the most promising entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses. We do it through tailored coaching, skills building, expert mentorship, seed funding, and facilitating connections within and across industries.
We Transform
We go big … by positioning young entrepreneurs to tackle tough problems in key sectors and channeling their talent into innovative, private sector-led solutions. We do this through the Kosmos Innovation Center’s distinctive focus on commercial solutions and local knowledge.
Ghana
Established in 2016, Kosmos Innovation Center Ghana is helping to breathe new life into agriculture, transforming it into an engine of growth and job creation.
Mauritania
Launched in 2018, the Kosmos Innovation Center Mauritania is helping young, entrepreneurial Mauritanians develop the skills to turn ideas into reality.
Senegal
Kosmos Innovation Center Senegal is helping young business leaders in Senegal develop the technical skills needed to grow successful and sustainable businesses.
Kosmos Innovation Center
The Kosmos Innovation Center (KIC) invests in young entrepreneurs and small businesses who have big ideas and want to see their country grow.
🛠️ World Youth Skills Day
Today marks World Youth Skills Day, a UN initiative focused on equipping young people with the technical, entrepreneurial, and vocational skills they need to thrive.
We continue to support young people in Ghana, Senegal and Mauritania through targeted training, mentorship, and access to opportunities in agriculture, innovation, and business development.
Our programmes are designed to help young people turn ideas into viable ventures, which means creating jobs, driving growth, and strengthening communities.
#WorldYouthSkillsDay #WYSD2025 #YouthSkills #KosmosInnovationCenter #youthdevelopment #ghanayouth #senegalyouth #entrepreneurship #skillsforthefuture #youthemployment #AgriTechAfrica
Diop Abderrahmane runs the first nutrition clinic in Mauritania. It’s called Nutriconseiller, and it focuses on helping people improve their health using local, affordable food. His work is making a real difference, especially for those living with chronic illnesses.
Diop was born with a rare muscular disease and has used a wheelchair his whole life. That experience shaped his understanding of how important nutrition is, not just for survival, but for living well. He started Nutriconseiller because he saw how many people were suffering from a lack of knowledge.
He joined the Kosmos Innovation Center scheme to address his own lack of knowledge when it came to business.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced was adapting to the pace and structure of entrepreneurship training, which was completely new to me. Coming from a background in health and nutrition, I wasn't used to working with business models, financial projections, or investor-style pitching. At times, I felt lost, and I wondered if I was out of place in a programme with so many talented entrepreneurs who seemed more prepared.”
But what helped him most wasn’t strategy, it was remembering his own story:
“What helped me overcome that doubt was going back to why I started Nutriconseiller: to make nutrition accessible, practical, and life-changing in my country. I reminded myself that even if I didn't speak the business language fluently at first, my impact was real and that mattered."
"With time, mentorship, and a willingness to learn, I began to grow in confidence. I didn’t have to be like everyone else, I just had to be authentic and consistent. That mindset helped me complete the programme, refine my vision, and believe that my project had its rightful place among innovators.”
After the course, Nutriconseiller has grown by more than 130%, partnered with organisations across the region, and helped families take control of their health. Like the mother who came in with tears in her eyes, telling Diop that her diabetic child had just gone a month without complications, for the first time, using a plan based on simple, local food.
And that’s what Diop's work is really about.
What's the best business advice you've ever received, and how did it change what you were doing?