Since 1994

Our history

Founded in Nouakchott in 1994, CDD Informatique has been in business for more than thirty years.

1994, the beginning

CDD Informatique was founded in Nouakchott in 1994 by Dr Ahmed Idriss Oumar Daoud, a doctor of computer science.

At the time, companies were setting up their first networked PCs, software came on floppy disks and people connected to the Internet with a modem.

Four people in front of computers at the CDD Informatique premises in 1994
At the CDD Informatique premises, Nouakchott, 1994.

The story behind the name

In 1994, Dr Ahmed Idriss went to the Chamber of Commerce in Nouakchott to register his company. He had already chosen its name: CDD, for “Cabinet Docteur Driss”.

In the bailiff’s office, another person was present during the conversation.

“In which sector will the company operate?” asked the bailiff.

“Information technology,” replied Dr Ahmed Idriss.

“That is very interesting,” said the other person. “In the world of tomorrow, everything will run on computers.”

“It is already tomorrow,” Dr Ahmed Idriss replied.

His own answer struck him. He kept the three letters but gave them a new meaning: CDD became “C’est Déjà Demain”, French for “it is already tomorrow”.

Why CDD was founded

In 1994, computing was only just reaching Mauritania. CDD was founded so that the country would not fall behind.

The context

Computers were still rare. Ministries and most companies worked on paper and with typewriters.

There were very few IT companies in the country: installing or repairing equipment often meant bringing in a technician from abroad.

The project

Having enrolled as a doctoral student in Berlin, then earned his doctorate in computer science in Leningrad, in the Soviet Union, Dr Ahmed Idriss returned to Mauritania with a conviction: computing would transform everything, and the country had to get ready.

He founded CDD to equip and support the companies and administrations that wanted to computerise, and to train Mauritanians in these new tools.

What CDD brought

  • Training from 1994, CDD trained people in computer tools; its training institute was officially approved in 2002.
  • Equipment and maintenance hardware supplied, installed and repaired locally, with no need to wait for a technician from abroad.
  • Networks and radio computer networks and radio communication systems, notably as the former representative of Thomson-CSF Communications (now Thales).
  • Internet access in 1999, CDD opened the Cyber Khaima, an Internet café making Internet access easier in Nouakchott.

Recognition

CDD quickly made a name for itself by solving urgent problems for companies and banks.

This work took it to the top of its sector at the time, built its reputation and opened the doors of institutions, embassies and foreign cooperation agencies.

Constant innovation

Since its creation, CDD has never stopped innovating.

Its latest step is higher education. After a process started in 2018, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research authorised CDD Sup, CDD’s training branch, which has carried this name since the early 2000s, to become a private higher education institution in 2026.

And CDD keeps moving forward with ever more innovative, high-quality services: it develops applications, websites and management software built on the latest technology.

Visit CDD Sup

Key dates

  1. 1994

    CDD Informatique is founded in Nouakchott by Dr Ahmed Idriss Oumar Daoud.

  2. May 1998

    CDD Informatique then represented Thomson-CSF Communications (now Thales) in Mauritania: a computerised radio communication system is presented to the Ministry of Rural Development.

    May 1998
  3. 1999

    Opening of an Internet café, the Cyber Khaima, to make Internet access easier.

    1999
  4. October 2001

    CDD Informatique takes part in the “Affaires 2001” business fair in Ottawa (Canada), 26-28 October 2001.

    October 2001
  5. July 2002

    The private vocational training institute “CDD-Informatique” is approved by joint order of the Ministries of the Interior and of the Civil Service (23 July 2002).

    July 2002
  6. September 2006

    Dr Ahmed Idriss Oumar Daoud is invited by UNESCO to take part in the workshop “The Effective Use of Technology for Poverty Reduction” in Cairo, 18-20 September 2006.

    September 2006
  7. 2018

    The process to obtain approval for a private higher education institute begins.

  8. March 2026

    CDD Sup, CDD’s training branch, which has carried this name since the early 2000s, is authorised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to become a private higher education institution (24 March 2026).

    March 2026
  9. September 2026

    Dr Ahmed Idriss Oumar Daoud hands over the management of CDD to his son, Sidi Ahmed Oumar Daoud. Thirty-two years after it was founded, the same passion for computing is passed on from one generation to the next.

  10. Today

    Four areas of expertise: maintenance and repair, networks and infrastructure, software and development, professional training.

The founder’s journey See the photo archives

A workstation, when we started and today

1994Today
SystemMS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11Windows 11
Processor486 DX2 at 66 MHz8 cores or more, 4 GHz
Memory4 to 8 MB16 GB
Hard drive200 to 500 MB500 GB to 1 TB SSD
File exchange1.44 MB floppy diskUSB drive, cloud
NetworkCoaxial cable, 10 Mbit/sGigabit and Wi-Fi
Internet14.4 kbit/s modemFibre optic
Display14-inch CRT24-inch flat panel

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