Summary of the interview with Jamal Benhamou: The Road to Morocco

Benhamou states that Africa has become a good region for investments. He affirms that it is “a vast untapped market with legions of firms eager to grab a slice of the region’s IT industry pie”. However, he also raise the negative aspect of Africa for investors as being “ a continent overshadowed by unrest, separated by a number of languages, and with precious few means of entering the market without falling prey to systemic corruption”. However, many African nations have worked to overcome this negative impression:
Morocco’s government and IT sector have been methodically and silently building up a joint business plan to attract foreign investment, particularly from the UAE.
Morocco’s geographical position and trilingual workforce make a prime destination for companies looking to outsource their operations.

Jamal Benhamou, APEBI’s CEO explains why Morocco is only now emerging as an IT destination:
· Many Chinese, European and US companies have come to Morocco because they know that they can benefit from the main free trade agreements we have signed with the United States, South America, Europe and North Africa.
· Morocco built up a strategy-based operation action plan which is a public-private voluntary policy to support development
· Morocco has finally understood that any growth or development in the IT environment will have a substantially direct impact on the local economy
· there opportunities for UAE and the wider Middle East companies to enter Morocco, French-speaking Africa, France and perhaps the EU
· Morocco has already built a number of technology parks, similar in design to Dubai’s Internet and Media Cities, with two located in Casablanca, another in Rabat, and a further pair scheduled to open in Tangier and Marrakesh
· Morocco’s telecoms sector currently ranks third in Africa, behind Egypt and Tunisia.
· Morocco understands that it’s going to be really difficult for them to compete with India and China, so I think they’re trying to add more on top through value-added services
· Moroccan government is also placing a lot of emphasis on innovation.