How Mamoudou Touré turned Typha from a Problem into a Solution with HABIDEM in Mauritania

Meet Mamoudou Touré, agricultural engineer by training, who with his friend and business partner, turns the plant Typha into a material for construction with their business HABIDEM in Mauritania.

In the south of Mauritania there is a lot of Typha and it presents a challenge as it is spreading rapidly and blocking irrigation channels for the fields.

Mamoudou came across this problem himself when he worked as a project manager in the south of Mauritania. He relates, that they used to spent a lot of money to fight against the Typha so that the water could reach the fields.

So when his friend working in the construction sector told Mamoudou about the idea to use Typha as a material for construction, he saw, that this presented an opportunity to turn a problem into a solution that could create job opportunities for young people in Mauritania as well as further the use of sustainable construction materials and make construction in Mauritania more affordable.

One of their breakthroughs came when they won a startup competition organised by Hadina RIMTIC (another business we interviewed with AfricaX) and the World Bank Group.

In the interview with Mamoudou we speak about how they started HABIDEM, how the reaction of his direct environment was, to him wanting to start a business, how they go about the replication of their innovative idea for other regions and how they launched their business while working full-time jobs.

There is a lot of gold and inspiring stuff in this interview. So without further ado, enter Mamoudou Touré.

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You can also find the interview with Mamoudou Touré, co-founder of HABIDEM on our AfricaX Blog as well as on the AfricaX Youtube Channel.

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