The launch of the Kosmos Innovation Center Mauritania Alumni Association continues to demonstrate the power of peer-led support and the lasting impact of entrepreneurial training. Launched in April 2025, the Alumni Association connects the 500 young entrepreneurs who have participated in Kosmos Innovation Center Mauritania programs since 2018, creating a space for connection and continued development.
The Alumni Association was established to provide a unified platform for former participants to stay connected, share knowledge, and deepen their engagement with one another and with the Kosmos Innovation Center. It also plays a vital role in tracking impact and outcomes through ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation efforts.
In April 2025, the Association launched its first major initiative: a peer-led Mentorship Program. Designed, organised and delivered entirely by alumni, the program includes seven workshops covering a range of practical topics. These include pitch development techniques, business English (taught by an alumnus who runs a language school), market analysis, fundraising strategy, public speaking, structuring content for presentations, and PowerPoint design.
The sessions are hosted in an office provided by one of the alumni and is attended by mentees from more recent cohorts, with a particular focus on supporting female entrepreneurs. Mentors come mainly from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 cohorts, demonstrating a strong commitment among alumni to support the next generation.
This initiative reflects and exemplifies the wider mission of the Kosmos Innovation Center: to equip young entrepreneurs with the tools, mindset and confidence to succeed, not only for their own ventures, but for their communities and peers. Seeing that learning passed on from one generation to the next through schemes such as this is a powerful realisation of the Kosmos Innovation Center’s vision: an entrepreneurial ecosystem that strengthens itself from within through mutual support and home-grown leadership.
The Mentorship Program is expected to grow further in the coming months, with additional workshops and continued opportunities for alumni to lead, teach and collaborate. For more information about the Alumni Association, take a look at the Facebook page for Kosmos Innovation Center Mauritania here.
