By Samira Mansouri
Cohort 2 participant
2nd-year Business Administration student at Université Hassan II, Morocco
The Entrepreneurship Exchange program was an incredible experience, and not just because our project, WeRead, won first place. That was amazing, but for me, winning doesn’t always have to mean a trophy or a title. Winning also is about the friendships you make across borders, the lessons you take with you, and the way you grow as a person and a team.
WeRead gives manuals and books a second life while helping families with limited income ease their financial burden. Working on this project pushed us to think creatively and try to build something that could really make a difference. Learn more about our business concept in our pitch video.)
Over these two months, I learned so much more than just design thinking, market research, pitching, and funding. I learned what it really means to work with people from different backgrounds, how to communicate better, how to collaborate more naturally, and how to solve problems together instead of alone.
As the team leader, one of the biggest things I’m taking with me from this program is how to take initiative and be responsible for the people around me. I learned how important it is to be there for your team when they need you, how communication can solve even the biggest problems, and how disconnected we can feel from each other when that communication is missing. I also learned how to give people direction and keep believing in what we are doing, even when I doubted it myself sometimes.
To future team leaders, I would say this: It will get hard sometimes. There will be moments when you have to give more than you feel like giving. You will need to be patient, to understand different perspectives, and to put yourself in other people’s shoes. But the experience, the growth, and the lessons will stay with you long after the program ends. And remember, winning can come in so many ways. It might be the first-place award, but it could also be the friendships you make, the confidence you gain, or simply seeing your idea come to life.
I’m really grateful to my teammates, Norma, Yasmin, Abdelrahman, and Sophie, for their dedication, creativity, and support throughout the journey. And I also want to thank WDI Program David Estrada, and our coordinator Noha Saada for guiding us and being there for us every step of the way.