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“These are cassava and okra mini-quiches with mango curry sauce. And over here, mafé-marinated chicken skewers.” In her kitchen, set within the Cité Fertile, a trendy “third place” on the outskirts of Paris, Marie-Clarisse lays out a tray of elegant bites destined for a prestigious event due that evening in the French capital.
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“I learned French culinary techniques to showcase ingredients from back home,” she says. “It’s a bridge between Congo and France.”
That bridge is also personal. Marie-Clarisse and her family fled conflict in Congo-Brazzaville in the late 1990s to seek refuge in France. Today, she is both chef and entrepreneur, with her own catering business, “Maison Kolia.”
In another of the site’s kitchens, Milena prepares a refined nikkei ceviche. Born in France to Peruvian parents, she once worked as a financial auditor before trading spreadsheets for cooking utensils. “I wanted to make Peruvian cuisine more widely known.” explains the chef, who’s also created her own catering venture, “Wankas”.
Milena and Marie-Clarisse are just two of many women rewriting their stories through Meet My Mama, a fast-growing foodtech startup with a social mission.
Founded nearly eight years ago by Loubna Ksibi, Donia Souad Amamra and Youssef Oudahman, the company was built on a simple idea: transform overlooked culinary talent into thriving businesses.
“The idea stems from our own stories,” says Oudahman. “We grew up around women with incredible skills who didn’t realize they could turn them into careers”, he explains. “In the gastronomy business, 80 to 90% of leadership roles are still held by men. We don’t just want to make room for these women, we want them in premium position”.
The company’s ‘Mama Academy’ trains participants in both culinary skills and business fundamentals. “It’s not just economic inclusion,” says Ksibi. “We wanted these women to become independent entrepreneurs, and to shine.”
So far, around 80 women have launched their own catering businesses through the platform, supplying the very events the company secures.
“We give chefs the power to have power,” says Amamra. “And they’ll pass that on to their families and communities. So the indirect impact is huge.”
And the recipe is working. With more than 600 events a year, Meet My Mama serves major corporations and international gatherings and is scaling up, eyeing international growth.
For Loubna Ksibi, the model is self-reinforcing: “The more business we do, the more impact we create. And the more impact we create, the more business follows”, she reflects. “We’re now among the leading caterers in Paris. I don’t know how much further we’ll go. But we’ve achieved wonderful things together. And we’ll continue to do so.”
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