Entrepreneur Spotlight: 10 Things You Did Not Know About Nour Drissi And Her Online Car Rental Platform

Nour Drissi, founder of Loue1voiture

Nour Drissi, founder of Loue1voiture
Nour Drissi, founder of Loue1voiture [Photo credit: Drissi Nour]
After working in the car rental industry for several years, she spotted a problem. Car rental companies did not allow customers to compare car hire prices. Subsequently, she set out to solve this problem. Her name is Nour Drissi. In our entrepreneur spotlight this week, we tell you everything you need to know about her entrepreneurial journey.

Background and Motivation to Start Business

Nour Drissi is a Moroccan entrepreneur and the founder of Loue1voiture, an online car rental platform. She is an alumna of a French business school. The idea of creating Loue1voiture came from a real market opportunity that Drissi seized. During her previous job as an e-marketing manager, Nour was able to manage advertising campaigns for several car rental companies in Morocco.

She noted the good return on investment that car rental companies realized and the opportunities offered by the internet. Most importantly, she observed that these companies lacked transparency and customers could not accurately compare prices. This realization led her to think about establishing a platform that would allow car hire clients to compare prices from different companies.

Loue 1 Voiture

Loue1voiture.com promotes local and independent rental companies in Morocco, with hundreds of them operating from Casablanca. The platform not only gives partnering companies more visibility but also offers them a management tool for their vehicle fleet.

Beyond a desire to restructure a market with high potential, Nour Drissi aims to capture thousands of monthly searches made on Google for car rental in Morocco. According to Nour, tourists reserve their rental car mainly on international sites such as Rentalcars.com, Economybookings.com, and Expedia.com.

In her view, this presents a huge shortfall for Morocco in terms of foreign currency inflows. She also explains that between 60 and 80% of the clientele of car rental companies is foreign, mainly made up of French tourists. Through Loue1voiture, these customers are able to instantly book very competitive offers from companies that previously had no visibility.

Rental companies that may or may not have an internet presence can be listed on the Loue1voiture platform. This listing gives them more visibility and the opportunity to increase their turnover. Loue1voiture introduced a service that didn’t exist in Morocco at the time.

The Success of The Company

Nour Drissi and her company have received international attention and recognition. During the She Leads Africa’s Entrepreneur Showcase competition in 2014, Nour took second place out of ten exceptional female entrepreneurs. This saw her take home a runner-up prize of US$5,000. The entrepreneur showcase gives participants an opportunity to win cash prizes as well as pitch to potential investors.

Nour also emerged as one of the winners during the 2014 Arab Startup Competition, 7th Edition. Beyond her motivations as an entrepreneur, Nour wishes to build a network of women and men determined to be agents of constructive change on the African continent.

10 Things You Might not Know about Nour Drissi and her Business

Nour Drissi awarded 2nd prize by She Leads Africa
Nour Drissi awarded 2nd prize by She Leads Africa [Photo credit: Ayibamagazine]

1. She was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to China

During the She Leads Africa competition, Chinese telecom Huawei got so impressed by her business. Subsequently, the company awarded her a fully paid trip to China.

2. Drissi can speak several languages

She is a French Moroccan. Nour can speak and write not just in English but in French and Arabic as well.

3. She schooled in France and Brazil

Drissi attended high school in Paris. Afterward, she pursued management and business studies at a French business school. Then, Nour pursued higher education at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

4. She founded Book1car before Loue1voiture

Prior to starting Loue1voiture, Drissi had established an international car hire called Book1car in partnership with an Irish company. This was basically a car reservation platform. With the experience acquired from Book1car, she founded Loue1voiture to serve Moroccan car rental companies.

5. Future plans for her company

Nour plans to expand the services of her company beyond Morocco. She aims to tap the car rental market in Northwest Africa.

6. She is open to investors and mentors who support her vision

One of the major reasons that led Drissi to participate in the She Leads Africa and Arab Startup competitions was to meet mentors and investors who believe in and support her idea.

7. Why Nour Drissi became an entrepreneur

Nour says, “entrepreneur at heart, my start-up is the realization of a childhood dream.” She has a great zeal to create value, make a positive impact in people’s lives, and transmit her values ​​through her work.

8. Brands she has worked with

Drissi has in the past worked with several brands including Europcar, Avis, and Hertz. Her car rental reservation platform would retrieve car availability information in real-time from these companies.

9. How Loue1voiture makes money

It earns a commission on each car rental reservation made through it. This is a win-win relationship both for the car rental companies and Loue1voiture.

10. The benefits of using Loue1voiture

By using this platform, customers benefit from the ease of comparison, the assurance of obtaining quality service, and protection against scams.

5 Business lessons from Nour Drissi

1. Stay positive

New businesses present pressing and unique challenges. It is often challenging to stay positive during stressful business times. But Nour warns entrepreneurs not to overthink their setbacks. She advises everyone to stay positive and focus on the expected benefits.

2. Take failures as learning opportunities

According to Drissi, entrepreneurs should perceive failures as learning opportunities. If you learn from today’s mistakes, you will be wiser, stronger, and better tomorrow. So, never feel bad when you fail in little ways. Learn from them and move on. Also, never take any setback to mean more than it is.

3. To become successful, you need a mind of steel

Drissi insists that aspiring and upcoming entrepreneurs should neither give up nor lose focus on their goals. During her interview with Mitefarab, she stated, “you become a real entrepreneur because you will have developed a mind of steel that never gives up and focuses on its goals.”

4. Satisfaction comes only after achieving your goals

There is a feeling of personal satisfaction that comes after an entrepreneur achieves his/her goals. She says, “when you have achieved your goals, you feel a personal satisfaction to be a value creator for others and for yourself.” To experience the satisfaction, wake up every day with the passion to fulfill your dream and achieve your goals.

5. Take the leap

Regardless of your business idea, you will always have some fears and sometimes you will even feel like your idea is not the right one. But you need to trust and believe in your idea. If you don’t, no one will believe in it. So, start your business, apply the above lessons, and keep moving. Let not the fear of starting stop you from pursuing your dreams.

Conclusion

Nour Drissi is transforming the car rental industry in Morocco. Her company is helping many local and independent car rental companies to reach a global audience. Also, customers from across the world can access exclusive offers from different Moroccan car hire companies. While Nour experienced a funding challenge at the onset of her entrepreneurial journey, it did not hinder her from pursuing her goals and dream. What is hindering you from achieving your dream? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Related Articles

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Receive our latest updates

Subscribe To Our Newsletter