A graduate of the very first class of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, now Regional Director for Large Francophone Enterprise Africa at SAP, Youssef Aqallal is passionate about Africa and digital technology. A tech marathoner, he has been crisscrossing the African continent since the early 2000s to share his technological and transformative vision.
Africa, digital, and adaptability: three words that perfectly sum up his professional journey. Before traveling the continent and immersing himself in technology, he was already honing his sense of adaptability on the benches of Al Akhawayn University. “I learned to operate in shifting contexts, to listen, to adjust,” he explains. That mindset now guides his management style, which he describes as participative: “I believe in management that listens, consults, but decides quickly and moves forward.”
For the executive, leadership must adapt to both the person and the situation. It’s that emotional intelligence that has allowed him to build long-lasting trust with his teams. It also influences his professional choices. “The education at Al Akhawayn University was ahead of its time in the way it supported students, instilling cross-disciplinary and practical skills. We were taught how to learn. And that’s what later allowed us to adapt to any situation,” he says.
Pioneer of digital Africa
With his Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering in hand, he began his professional life in 1999 at IBM as a consultant, project manager, and later as an expert in change management—a position he held for five years. In 2004, he joined the pre-sales and then sales department at Oracle, where he regularly traveled across the African continent. After six years with the American giant, he became managing director for Africa at Catalyst Business Solutions, an Oracle integration partner also specializing in data centers, cloud, and the Internet of Things. Youssef Aqallal then took on project after project for Africa, continuously fueling his passion for the continent.
In 2017, he became managing director for Africa at SAS Software, a global leader in data, analytics, and AI, overseeing the entire African region. In 2022, he joined SAP, the global leader in enterprise application solutions, to continue and accelerate his digital and African journey. “I’ve been working on projects in Africa since the early 2000s, well before the continent was in the spotlight. It’s been more than 25 years now that I’ve carried out missions there, always with the same desire to learn and to humbly contribute to its development,” says the executive. This pioneer sees ERPs and enterprise software as “true catalysts for efficiency, transformation, and sustainable development.”
« I believe in believing »
At the head of the Large Enterprise Regional Division at SAP Francophone Africa, he leads, along with his teams, the transformation of major strategic accounts at the intersection of data, AI, and African realities. “Africa is my home, my playground, my driving force,” he emphasizes.
His professional choices are always guided by passion: “When you deeply believe in what you do, results naturally follow.” He sums up this conviction in one phrase: “I believe in believing.” Passion isn’t limited to his professional life—Youssef Aqallal brings it into his athletic life as well. A marathon runner, this running enthusiast is one of 47 Moroccans to have completed all six majors: New York, Chicago, Boston, Berlin, London, and Tokyo—“the Grand Slam of running.” For him, running is a metaphor for work: effort, resilience, endurance, pushing limits, humility. “These are essential everyday values, which are also found in the professional world,” he concludes.
Written in French by Jankari Consulting, edited in English by Eric Nielson
