Draft:Romain Poirot-Lellig

Romain Poirot-Lellig (born February 18, 1978) is a French technology entrepreneur active in Africa and a former European Union diplomat and author.

Born in France, Poirot-Lellig dropped out of high school at 15 and became a self-thaught journalist in the technology industry in Paris, and then cofounded and led the French Trade Association for Video Game Developers (Association des Producteurs d'Oeuvres Multimédia). From 2008 to 2010, he was political advisor and chief of staff of the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan [1] in Kabul. He is now the [2]Cofounder & CEO of Kwik Africa, a logistics tech startup operating in West Africa.

Business consulting

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Poirot-Lellig worked extensively as a consultant in the private sector from 2000 to 2008, in particular with French video games company Ubisoft S.A., where he was instrumental in promoting a video game tax credit in France[3].

Diplomacy

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Despite having dropped out of high school in 1994, Poirot-Lellig managed to get admitted to Paris Dauphine University, where he graduated in Corporate Management with honors in 2006, and to Sciences Po in Paris, where he graduated in International security in 2008. After graduating from Sciences Po, he was hired the Council of the European Union as a political advisor to the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and was based in Kabul. In this position, and after being promoted chief of staff to EU Ambassador Ettore Sequi in 2009, Poirot-Lellig negotiated the first treaty between the European Union and Afghanistan.

Entrepreneurship

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Poirot-Lellig founded Kwik Africa, a logistics tech startup, in Nigeria in 2018, with the stated aim of "uberizing" logistics in West Africa. The company is referenced having raised over $5 million and provides a host of digital services in the field of logistics to African merchants [4][5][6].

Publications

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Poirot-Lellig is a published author, featured regularly in Le Monde[7], The American Interest, Le Nouvel Obs, La Revue des Deux Mondes[8] and others. In 2013, he published Diplomate en Guerre à Kaboul with former French ambassador to Afghanistan Jean de Ponton d'Amécourt. The book, published by Editions Robert Laffont, won the Prix de la Légion d'Honneur in 2013.

References

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  1. ^ Assemblée, Nationale. "Rapport d'information - « Afghanistan : Un chemin pour la paix »". Assemblée Nationale - République Française. Assemblée Nationale. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  2. ^ Peace, Hyde. "Quick Clicks And Scaling Businesses In Nigeria". Forbes Africa. Forbes Africa. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  3. ^ Forsans, Emmanuel. "Romain Poirot-Lellig quitte le groupe Ubisoft". AFJV. AFJV. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  4. ^ APO, Groupe. "Kwik Closes $2M Series A Round, Steps Up Expansion to Digitize Informal African Trade, from Logistics to Financial Services". The Guardian - Nigeria. Guardian Press Ltd. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  5. ^ Oladunmade, Muktar. "Exclusive: Romain Poirot-Lellig on how acquisitions can improve the African tech ecosystem". TechCabal. TechCabal. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  6. ^ Okafor, Tage. "Nigeria's Kwik gets $2M to add financial services to its last-mile delivery offerings". Techcrunch. Techcrunch.
  7. ^ Poirot-Lellig, Romain. "« Il coûte moins cher à une famille touarègue de faire venir un sac de semoule ou un bidon d'essence en fraude d'Algérie que de Bamako »". Le Monde. Le Monde. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  8. ^ Poirot-Lellig, Romain. "Liban : la tutelle internationale, seule solution pérenne". Revue des Deux Mondes. Revue des Deux Mondes. Retrieved 6 December 2024.