Moroccan Sanae Lahlou has been appointed Country Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in her home country. She will be responsible for coordinating UNIDO’s strategy in Morocco and overseeing the continued implementation of UNIDO’s Country Partnership Programme in Morocco.
Comprising 179 countries, UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.
An impact driven young African leader, Sanae Lahlou, defore her appointment, was the director of Mazars Morocco’s Africa Business Unit. She led number of strategic projects along her dynamic and diversified career in both public and corporate sectors, building shared and sustainable values for African communities. She works on bridging SMEs and innovative start-ups from African developing countries by widening their growth opportunities and turning them into African and global champions.
Sanae Lahlou helped more than thousands Moroccan SMEs to connect with continental value chains in multiple and diverse fields, as she has been in charge of International Markets for the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency. She shaped and implemented the first governmental business development campaign “Caravans of Trade”, promoting Moroccan SMEs across more than 40 African markets.
Inclusive growth and gender equality
Prior to that Sanae Lahlou held the position of Development Adviser for Africa at the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Advocating for inclusive growth and gender equality are also among her career’s key drivers. Sanae is a regular speaker in international conferences on Africa’s structural transformation.
She has been awarded for “Global Impact” by the Pan African Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development Centre and had been nominated as “French-African Young Leader 2019” by the French-African Foundation.
Sanae Lahlou has graduated from Sciences Po Paris and the American University Al Akhawayn. She also obtained an MBA in International Business Engineering in Paris and consolidated her experience with a Master at ISCAE (High Institute of Commerce and Business Administration) in Coaching & Leadership with a thesis’ subject: «Coaching the Moroccan companies for a better African intercultural management», a new mark of her commitment for the African Development.
