Morocco’s Yasmine El Baggari is Fostering Global Peace Through Her Online Platform, Voyaj
It is amazing how interconnected the world is in the 21st century, in a matter of seconds, people from various parts of the world can connect easily through various available online platforms such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook or Viber.
Moroccan entrepreneur, Yasmine El Baggari is an active part in ensuring that the world becomes a smaller place to foster easy connection between hosts and travelers. She is the founder of Voyaj an online platform that she launched in 2015 that matches hosts and travelers who want to share an authentic, local experience.
Yasmine is passionate about connecting people to bridge the gap between various cultures. While pursuing her dream to visit all 50 United States, Yasmine was welcomed into 75 different homes and became thoroughly inspired by her exchanges with her hosts as they learned to connect deeply and appreciate their differences.
Voyaj, still in beta, allows members to create a profile that includes a video post where they describe their interests and what they have to offer during a journey, it is an online platform that brings a nexus to technology and personal interaction.
Voyaj matches hosts and travelers worldwide to provide meaningful exchanges, opening hearts and minds. The mission of Voyaj is basically to build relationships between like-minded people who believe one-on-one relationships can lead to a more peaceful world. The matches are based on common interests and values and curiosity about other cultures and locations.
She has worked with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, conducted research at Harvard University, served as a Young Moroccan Ambassador at the US State department. Her work has been featured in various international publications including: National Geographic, Inc. Magazine and Forbes among others.
She has also received several awards, she is the recipient of an award from the African Studies Association, Hamspire College’s $60K Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, The Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, the Sander Theones Research Award and two Ingenuity Awards.
She continues to use Voyaj to build on her vision to connect people one-on-one, to enlighten each other with understanding and appreciation of their differences, and also to create young African leaders of tomorrow who will positively impact the world.
