Today felt like a familiar one compared to other visits on this trip, but ANDD had its own unique spin that made it stand out on its own. We met them in their office, a nonprofit space with a warm, grounded energy to it, and everyone we met throughout the day was so genuinely warm and friendly. A few of us finished the day at our favorite cafe to relax after a full day of conversations and stories, which at this point feels like a Rabat tradition.

ANDD’s programs are diverse, reflecting the many different stages a person may be at when they need support. On the one side, they work with young people coming out of college that are ambitious but need to build professional skills before they can thrive in a real business environment. One young woman who went through their program and came out a noticeably stronger public speaker told us that, which is the kind of skill that doesn’t show up on a resume but makes or breaks how far you can take an idea. On the other end, they work with older women who already have well-developed craft skills and make their own products, but they struggle with the business side, specifically how to grow and market through platforms like Instagram and Facebook. All the women we met in the afternoon had used ANDD’s programs to grow their craft businesses. Different products, different backgrounds, and different starting points, but the same thread in every story: ANDD gave them tools they didn’t have before and helped them figure out how to use what they had better. The similarity, relative to what we’ve seen elsewhere on this trip, is the mission of empowering people who might otherwise get left out of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Unlike other organizations we visited that focused on funding, connections, or marketplace access, ANDD focuses purely on capability building. They’re not paying anybody off. They’re training the person so that he or she is ready when the chance comes.

The philosophy immediately made me think of 1337. The coding school does a remarkable job of developing technical talent. One of the biggest challenges students face is the transition into a professional environment. Technical skills are there, but communication, public speaking, and workplace readiness are things students can struggle with. A partnership between 1337 and ANDD would be a good fit. ANDD could help fill that gap, connecting graduating from a world-class coding program to thriving in a professional environment. The two organizations are working toward compatible goals from opposite directions, and together they could go a lot further. Today showed that there is no single approach to supporting entrepreneurs. Occasionally, a person needs funding. Sometimes it’s a platform, and sometimes it’s just about the skills and the confidence to take the next step.