On April 10, 2026, EPIK Leaders and the Moroccan School of Engineering Sciences (EMSI), a member of Honoris United Universities, organized the AI FOR IMPACT conference at Casablanca Finance City, bringing together NGOs, institutions, startups, and researchers around a concrete question: how can artificial intelligence transform access to funding for civil society organizations?
30 to 50 hours — this is the average time an NGO spends preparing a funding proposal. With AI, this timeframe can be reduced to just a few minutes.
A shared observation: NGOs facing the complexity of funding
Across the world, nonprofit organizations devote considerable time to searching for and drafting funding proposals — often with uncertain success rates. A typical donor guideline exceeds 340 pages. International competition for access to funding is intensifying. In this context, artificial intelligence is emerging as a strategic lever, provided it is adapted to the realities on the ground: incomplete data, unstable connectivity, and linguistic and cultural diversity.
« AI is not neutral; it never takes exactly the same form depending on the context. NGOs must shape it to meet their real needs, not be constrained by it. » — Dr. Nizar Chaari, Founder of EPIK Leaders
NOVAI: from 50 hours of work to just a few minutes
Presented during the conference by its co-founders Liwaa Awar (CTO) and Jawad Moghraby (CBO), the NOVAI platform provides a concrete illustration of what AI can offer NGOs: a funding database updated daily, an intelligent matching system assessing each organization’s eligibility, an AI assistant to generate and customize proposals (including budget, outcomes, and deliverables), and a layer of human experts for final validation.
Key figures presented during the conference:
- 30 to 50 hours: typical time to draft a proposal, reduced to minutes with NOVAI
- 15 hours per week: estimated time saved on repetitive administrative tasks
- 340 pages: typical length of donor guidelines, automatically integrated and analyzed by NOVAI
« No impactful idea should remain unfunded due to limited access to information or expertise. » — Feryal El Moghraby, Founder of NOVAI
A panel on responsible AI and inclusion
The conference brought together Mohamed El Rhabi (Director General of EMSI), Dr. Nizar Chaari (Founder of EPIK Leaders), Fatima-Zahra Bounaffaa (Founder of Parcours MCE), Khadija Bousmar (Computer Science Researcher, BBC Media Action), as well as NOVAI co-founders Liwaa Awar and Jawad Moghraby. The discussions highlighted three key points of consensus:
AI enhances human expertise; it does not replace it. Expert validation remains essential.
The constraints faced by African NGOs — limited data, unstable connectivity, and linguistic diversity — are not barriers but forward-looking challenges that drive innovation.
Gender equity must be integrated from the design stage of tools, not added afterward.
« Artificial intelligence amplifies the intent of the person using it. With AI, we gain 15 hours per week on repetitive tasks — time that can be reinvested into impact. » — Fatima-Zahra Bounaffaa, Founder of Parcours MCE
Morocco as a driver of AI for African impact
Organized on the sidelines of GITEX Africa, the AI FOR IMPACT conference positions Morocco as a committed player in advancing responsible AI for the benefit of African civil society. The event is part of the pan-African momentum led by EPIK Leaders since its creation in January 2025 — a movement that now brings together more than 50,000 members and 550 active clubs across 15 African countries. The next step: Africa Future Leaders Day, in Dakhla on April 25, 2026, focusing on African Soft Power.
