Chaqor, Youssef
Founder and General Manager, Kilimanjaro Environnement
Youssef studied industrial engineering at top Moroccan engineering university Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs. Upon graduating in 1998, he joined Unilever and held several positions there, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya. After Unilever, Youssef worked at Savola, a large Saudi Arabian edible oil company. During his time at both companies, Youssef deepened his knowledge of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distribution channels and honed his logistics and sales skills.
Youssef left Savola in 2008 to become a social entrepreneur. Concerned by the triple financial, food, and oil crises, he was drawn to second generation biofuel made from waste, rather than food products, which encouraged sustainable waste disposal and reduced pressure on food production. In early 2008, Youssef climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and relished the triumph of persevering through doubt and difficulties. He soon founded Kilimanjaro Environment, hoping the name would carry over similar notions of commitment and drive. He immediately began collecting UCO (Used Cooking Oil) for biodiesel producers, which he financed through freelance consulting on FMCG distribution, marketing, and sales. After several months, Youssef sold his first shipment of UCO to an Italian company Project Energy and struck up a strategic partnership early the next year with petrochemical aggregator AOT trading, a Swiss subsidiary of Astra Transcor Energy. This relationship quickly evolved and helped the company triple revenue in the first year alone.