Two years after our last visit to Africa, our team crossed the ocean (exciting times!) to participate in several activities in Ivory Coast and Senegal! Through our “Re-Innovate” educational programs, we had the opportunity to provide a training cohort and take part in a conference in Dakar. Here’s a look back at this memorable trip.
Landing in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Our team first went to Abidjan to advance a project we began two years ago with the team of the Agence PME Côte d’Ivoire. At the time, the agency had mandated us to develop a strategy to implement a national tech cluster. When the pandemic was announced on March 13, 2020, we were on site working on this strategy. Despite this crisis and our hasty return to Montreal, we continued to work together virtually to complete the mandate. We also stayed in close contact with the agency’s team over time to follow up and support the evolution of the Cluster, which was officially launched in October 2021.
It was exactly two years after our first visit that we followed up the cluster in person! From March 7 to 10, 2022, we organized a series of “Re-Innovate” training sessions for the agency’s team on how to plan and implement a digital transformation project that would connect local businesses with local technology companies. Made possible by the Ministère des Relations internationales du Québec, these four days of training allowed agency employees to learn the context of the current technological ecosystem, the steps required when planning a digital transformation project, how to visualize the current situation and create a customized plan for each of their clients. This training series was greatly appreciated by the participants!
“If you want to fully understand the digital transformation issues of a business in record time and support a digital transformation project, this is a must-attend training. Clear, fluid and practical!” – a participant in the training series
Off to Dakar, Senegal
Then, our team continued our journey to Dakar where Arche was an official partner of the 3rd International Conference on Economic Francophonie organized by the Observatoire de la Francophonie économique of the Université de Montréal. Held from March 16th to 18th, this event was organized under the theme “Towards a resilient, green and inclusive economy“. We first took part in a panel entitled ” The digital world, at the heart of resilience and recovery ” and then co-facilitated a workshop, with the organizational development consultant (AKEITA Consulting) Aïssatou Keita, on the management of organizational transformations within companies. Two great opportunities to share our knowledge and make new friends.
Going back to Africa was a heart-warming experience! We had the opportunity to follow up on a project that is dear to us and to make new connections. It is with a head full of ideas and projects that our team returned from our trip. We are already looking forward to our next overseas collaborations. Stay tuned for more!