Ms. Saâdia Lakehal is the Founder and President of Emperia Industries Connect, and the initiator of the Global Women 4.0 & AgriTech Summit.
She is a leading advocate for inclusive and sustainable industrial transformation, connecting innovation ecosystems across continents.
Her work promotes women’s leadership, creativity, and impact at the heart of Industry 4.0 in Africa and beyond.
1You have placed creativity and innovation at the core of the Global Women 4.0 Summit.
How do African women stand out as a key driving force for transformation in Industry 4.0, and what concrete measures could further enhance their impact on the continent’s industrial future?
I firmly believe that creativity and innovation are Africa’s greatest assets, and that women are their true catalysts.
Across the continent, women have always been innovators: in their enterprises, their communities, and their households.
With little, they achieve much. Faced with constraints, they invent solutions.
This resilience and ingenuity must now drive Africa’s industrial transformation.
Within Industry 4.0, such creativity is a strategic lever, enabling the design of technologies that are inclusive, sustainable, and rooted in local realities.
African women bring vision, resilience, and collaborative leadership, three pillars essential to building a human-centred industry that benefits all.
The Global Women 4.0 Summit aims to spotlight these talents, connect creative minds, and demonstrate that women’s innovation is not merely inspiring, it is a powerful engine of transformation for the continent.
Key actions to amplify their impact:
Equal access to digital skills : Deliver local, inclusive training in accessible formats (mobile, hybrid, multilingual).
Inclusive entrepreneurship : Support women entrepreneurs with finance, incubation, and networking to turn ideas into sustainable industrial ventures.
Infrastructure and connectivity :Expand access to electricity, Internet, and digital tools in rural and peri-urban areas.
Education and mentorship : Prepare girls for technology careers and connect them with role models.
Sustainability and social inclusion : Promote an industry that values local know-how, environmental responsibility, and gender equality.
The African woman, creative, resilient, and visionary, is the cornerstone of the continent’s industrial revolution.
For her to fully lead this transformation, technology must adapt to her reality, not the other way around.
Africa should not copy; it must invent its own model, one where technology serves humanity and women’s creativity becomes a true force of sovereignty and progress.
2. Through agritech and agro-industrial innovation, how can women contribute to creating more value and jobs while supporting sustainable and organic agriculture in Africa?
Women are the backbone of African agriculture, representing nearly 60% of its workforce and ensuring much of the continent’s food security.
Yet they remain too often confined to primary production, with limited access to technology, finance, or markets.
Agritech and agro-industrial innovation can transform these women into creators of value and sustainable employment.
Agritech as a tool for empowerment
Digital solutions such as mobile apps, agri-market platforms, climate data, or smart irrigation enable women to produce better, sell more, and waste less.
They can plan harvests, track prices, and sell directly, gaining control over their economic future.
Women-led agro-industries: adding value locally
When women move from production to processing, they generate jobs, stabilize income, and strengthen rural economies.
By transforming cassava, cocoa, shea, or organic fruits, they reduce post-harvest losses and elevate African products on global markets.
Each women-run processing unit becomes a hub of local employment and sustainability.
Toward a sustainable and organic agriculture
Guardians of ancestral knowledge, women know how to preserve soil, seeds, and natural cycles.
By merging this wisdom with technology such as smart composting, traceability, solar irrigation, and organic certification, they build modern, ecological, and climate-resilient systems.
Priority actions:
• Financial and technical support for women in agritech.
• Creation of women-focused agricultural incubators connecting innovation, production, and transformation.
• Inclusive public policies integrating women into agro-industrial value chains.
• Promotion of local and organic consumption driven by women entrepreneurs.
Through agritech and innovation, African women can evolve from being producers to architects of a sustainable and inclusive agricultural economy.
They do not just feed the continent, they transform it.
3.Based on your international experience connecting women in Industry 4.0, what priority initiatives could strengthen women’s skills in Africa and expand their access to industrial opportunities?
My international experience has revealed a fundamental truth: wherever women gain access to knowledge, networks, and technology, innovation accelerates.
Yet in Africa, despite tremendous potential, many women remain excluded from industrial ecosystems due to limited training, visibility, or resources.
Three strategic priorities can change this reality.
Massive training in future-ready skills
Democratize education in Industry 4.0 domains such as AI, robotics, data, digital manufacturing, and clean energy.
Training must be accessible, practical, and locally relevant:
• Programs in local languages
• Mobile or hybrid formats
• Technical schools open to rural women
To train is to empower; without it, inclusion remains an illusion.
Bridging women and industrial ecosystems
Women must be part of the spaces where transformation happens.
This means:
• Women-focused incubators and fab labs
• South-South exchange programs among engineers, researchers, and entrepreneurs
• Public-private partnerships for mentorship, technology transfer, and market access
When women connect, they form powerful and supportive innovation networks.
Financing and visibility for women innovators
Ideas are abundant, funding is not.
Access to capital through inclusive investment funds, digital microcredit, and targeted seed programs is essential.
Equally vital is to celebrate women’s success stories, to inspire, to model, and to lead.
The global Women 4.0 Summit and AgriTech Women 4.0 embody this mission: help to train, connect, and finance.
This triad transforms African women from beneficiaries into architects of the continent’s industrial future.
Where a woman is trained, connected, and recognized, a community thrives and a continent moves forward.
