When Foued Khalfaoui launched Aqwa Studies in 2023, he wasn’t chasing hype or headlines. He was responding to a global gap.
From his early days speaking with overlooked researchers and frustrated policymakers, Khalfaoui saw a pattern – brilliant minds sidelined, and organisations forced to operate in silos. That tension became his mission.
What began as a solo effort has grown into one of Africa’s fastest-expanding knowledge placement platforms, connecting experts to institutions across borders.
“The seed for Aqwa Studies was planted when I realised how much insight never reaches those who need it most,” Khalfaoui says. “That disconnect bothered me deeply.”
He didn’t start with code or flashy features. He started with dozens of conversations. Academics, consultants, and entrepreneurs all helped shape what Aqwa would become. That early focus on listening rather than building proved decisive.
Aqwa’s model sets it apart. It blends technology and human judgment to match experts not just by credentials, but by mission, context, and personality. “Most platforms are built for transactions,” Khalfaoui explains. “We’re built for transformation.”
Rather than becoming a vast database of profiles, Aqwa functions as a curated network. Every expert is vetted through a multi-layer process that includes peer interviews, work analysis, and credential verification. “Credibility is our currency,” he says.
Khalfaoui’s transition from academia to entrepreneurship forced a shift in mindset. In research, depth and perfection rule. In business, speed and adaptation matter. “I had to stop trying to control everything and start building systems that could thrive without me,” he admits.
One of his biggest early challenges was internal – staying focused when momentum lagged, and trusting the mission despite uncertainty. Without funding or brand recognition, he was onboarding experts at midnight and pitching clients at dawn.
Clarity became his survival tool. “One of the hardest early lessons I learned was the cost of unclear direction,” he says. “It wasn’t that the vision was wrong, but the execution lacked structure.” That misstep resulted in burnout and wasted effort. Since then, he’s built routines for alignment and uses regular reflection to recalibrate direction.
As Aqwa’s footprint expanded across countries, Khalfaoui faced a new kind of challenge: cultural translation. “What works in one country can fall flat in another,” he says. The team learned to localise their approach without diluting their identity. This sensitivity helped them navigate regulatory grey zones and communication gaps in new markets.
Global doesn’t mean generic. For Khalfaoui, it means showing up with relevance; respecting nuance while staying anchored in mission. Diversity, in his view, is not a nice-to-have. It’s a strategy. “We’ve embraced diversity as our strategic advantage.”
Aqwa’s future leans heavily on emerging technology. The platform is shifting from static profiles to dynamic, AI-informed matching. Blockchain is helping verify credentials in a trustless environment. But tech isn’t the destination. “We don’t chase trends,” Khalfaoui says. “We build for what’s next, responsibly and with purpose.”
The quality of people remains a non-negotiable. In building a distributed team, Khalfaoui looks beyond skill. “I look for builders, people who don’t wait for permission,” he says. His focus is on humility and hunger. “Skills can be taught. Culture and drive, that’s what moves mountains.”
His advice to African founders is that success isn’t a straight line. “You’ll revisit the same challenges at different levels, each time with a little more wisdom.”
He encourages founders to build with intention, not imitation, and to focus on real problems, not vanity metrics. “If your mission is strong enough, it will carry you through the silence, the rejections, the pivots.”
Foued Khalfaoui has been nominated in the Entrepreneur of the Year category for the Masters of Industry award, scheduled to hold on November 29, 2025, at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.
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