Yassine Cherkaoui, CEO at Bidra Innovation Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2026 Powerlist.
Yassine Cherkaoui is a founding member and CEO of Bidra Innovation Ventures, the corporate VC platform backed by OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Under his leadership, Bidra has evolved from an internal innovation initiative into a globally active investment platform operating across Africa, Brazil, Europe, India and the US.
Cherkaoui oversees Bidra’s $250m investment mandate spanning both direct investments and strategic LP positions across global venture ecosystems. The platform focuses on technologies shaping the future of legacy industries, including agriculture, energy, materials, water, mining and industrial decarbonisation.
Notable investments include Mitra Chem (AI-enabled battery materials), Verdagy (green hydrogen electrolysis), Tidal Metals (seawater mineral extraction), Aqua Membranes (industrial water filtration), Niqo Robotics (precision agriculture robotics), EarthOptics (soil intelligence), AgroSpheres (RNA-based crop protection), TerraBlaster (fertiliser efficiency solutions) and ThriveAgric (digital agricultural marketplaces).
Beyond investment activity, Cherkaoui has helped position Bidra as a strategic transformation platform for OCP Group, embedding venture clienting programmes and structured collaboration with business units to accelerate technology adoption and organisational learning. His approach leverages CVC not simply as a capital deployment vehicle, but as a long-term strategic learning platform supporting industrial transformation alongside financial performance.
He also serves on advisory initiatives supporting entrepreneurship, research commercialisation and founder development, and has helped establish Bidra as one of the more globally connected venture platforms emerging from the global south.
Cherkaoui has championed a thesis-driven investment approach that connects frontier technologies with some of the world’s most pressing industrial and sustainability challenges. By building relationships across venture capital funds, research institutions, corporates and entrepreneurs, he has expanded Bidra’s access to emerging innovation ecosystems while strengthening pathways for technology transfer into OCP Group’s operations.
His work reflects a growing trend among corporate venture leaders in emerging markets: using venture investing as a mechanism to access global innovation, develop strategic capabilities and create competitive advantage. As Bidra continues to scale, Cherkaoui remains focused on translating technological breakthroughs into measurable industrial and societal impact.
The GCV Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
Here’s a snapshot of their recent deals:
