Interview:Noureddine Gnaou What is your overall assessment of the regulatory and tax framework for SMEs? NOUREDDINE GNAOU: Everything is becoming more dynamic in the kingdom. In Europe, by contrast, things have barely evolved since the industrial revolution, which was almost two centuries ago. Ambitious governmental reform programmes, such as the Industrial Acceleration Plan, the Green Morocco…
Interview:Hassan Sentissi How have the objectives outlined in Plan Halieutis been implemented thus far? HASSAN SENTISSI: Plan Halieutis outlined ambitions for the fisheries and seafood processing industry to achieve by 2020. These include bringing its contribution to GDP to Dh21.9bn (€2.03bn), significantly reducing informal activities and increasing our global fisheries market share by 2%,…
Interview:Amine Louali To what extent can Morocco learn from different aspects of the Turkish steel industry model? AMINE LOUALI: The Moroccan steel industry is affected by macroeconomic and geopolitical developments. If there is a devaluation of the lira in Egypt, for example, the domestic industry is directly impacted. All players in the steel market can be either classified as fully integrated,…
Interview:Omar Moro What challenges have accompanied the region’s recent economic growth? OMAR MORO: The previous three years have been marked by the implementation of the regionalisation project, an instrument for the economic and social development of the Tangiers-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region. Currently, the region is experiencing significant growth across multiple sectors, including the…
Interview:Maria Helena Antolin What are the major challenges faced by automotive equipment companies in Morocco? MARIA HELENA ANTOLIN: The transportation of goods remains challenging because the majority of them are quite large and require containers, which as a result makes logistics expensive for car interiors. This is why client proximity is crucial for us, so that parts are not moving back…
Interview:Marc Nassif How has Morocco’s status as an industrial hub evolved over the last two decades? MARC NASSIF: The automotive ecosystem began in the 1960s with our plant in Casablanca. Since the launch of the Tangiers plant project in 2007, the industry has seen a strong acceleration. With a combined output of more than 376,000 units in 2017, most of our production is exported. Today,…
Interview:Selma Belkhayat What trends are you seeing in terms of demand in the Moroccan retail real estate sector? SELMA BELKHAYAT: We are seeing a growing mall culture among consumers. This development has led to a more structured organisation of the retail market, which consisted formerly of street retail dispersed across various neighbourhoods. Increasingly, brands have been concentrating…
Interview:Tarafa Marouane Which infrastructure projects are set to support growth in the Moroccan economy in 2018? TARAFA MAROUANE: The port of Nador will provide an opportunity for economic growth in Morocco’s Northern region, particularly in the Rif area. What could really boost the economy is highway infrastructure for the central region. The kingdom’s highway infrastructure primarily…
Interview:Moncef Belkhayat What distribution trends have you observed in the Moroccan FMCG industry? MONCEF BELKHAYAT: The FMCG segment is a Dh120bn (€11.1bn) market in Morocco, and is roughly composed of 50% food and 50% non-food products. With regard to overall distribution trends, FMCG principally pass through either traditional or non-traditional trade channels. On the traditional side…
Interview:Nawal Chraibi What can be done to improve the local production chain of renewable energy products? NAWAL CHRAIBI: The strategic orientation of Morocco’s renewable supply chain is essentially defined by industrialists and foreign investors who, at various levels, demand innovative products and services. This demand is cross sectoral. For example, in 2016 the National Agency for the…
