2iE is a higher education institute and research center based in Ouagadougou, whose expertise areas include Water and Sanitation, Environment, Energy, Civil Engineering, Mining and Managerial Science. 2iE aims to train “entrepreneurial engineers” in order to cope with Africa’s challenges. To reach this goal, 2iE has created the “Entrepreneurship Track”, organized over six months and combining different aspects:
– Training sessions to detail each part of a Business Plan
– Online strategic mentoring thanks to a partnership with a French Business School specialized in development issues in order to encourage multicultural interactions between students from different countries and academic backgrounds
– Face-to-face senior mentoring thanks to professionals from 2iE and partner organizations
– Technical mentoring thanks to 2iE’s scientists and infrastructures (labs, research centers, etc.)
– Access to Business Plan competition (local and international) to challenge potential entrepreneurs
– For the most promising projects, access to 2iE’s business incubator, to receive additional services (managerial, technical and financial) to bring the idea to fruition
All the above-mentioned elements are part of a holistic program which develops the entrepreneurial spirit of the engineers, boosts innovation, creates interactions between ideas and people, and empowers future African entrepreneurial engineers.
