Morocco. A country whose best is yet to come

I never really liked the CzechTrade or CzechInvest trips.

Great expectations, hopeful promises... but only officialities and hand-shaking on the spot.

That's why I'm glad this time was different.

But first things first.

The eleventh installment of the SMARTEAST newsletter will be dedicated to Morocco.

A country that has suffered a lot in the last year.

That's when an earthquake measuring almost 6.9 on the Richter scale struck southwest of Marrakech in September.

And nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.

Fortunately, there is one thing that can lift the national spirits more than anything else.

Football.

And ever since FIFA announced in October that Morocco would be one of the host countries for the 2030 World Cup, there has been nothing else to talk about in the country.

The ideal country for Czech companies

The king and the government are racing to see how much investment they will put into infrastructure.

What they will improve, complete, build in the country.

What they will transform from traditional to smart.

What technological innovations they will invent, because the Qatar Mundial set an incredibly high bar in this area.

That's why @Jan Kapitanov's visit to the country last November was perfectly timed. It was to a country that is on the cusp of another major boom. And it was felt literally at every turn.

And it's actually the perfect place for Czech companies to invest.

Why?

It is already the most underdeveloped country in the north of the African continent.

There is a strong French influence and many things culturally are not so distant.

Logistics are possible not only by air, but also by conventional forms, as the mainland of Spain and Morocco are separated by only fifteen kilometres of the Strait of Gibraltar.

And then there is one of our "electrician" specificities.

Morocco has historically used all French standards, to which the Czech Republic is closest. We have the same energy requirements. Therefore, our products are basically ready for immediate installation. Simply 'plug and play'.

But back to the November mission.

The business mission was organised by the CzechTrade Morocco and the Moroccan Federation for Electronics and Renewable Energy (FENELEC). And Elko EP took part in it in a close group (which is always a better strategy for business) of companies together with Microrisc, Belo Solar Power or Remavy Group.

It started in the economic centre of Morocco - Casablanca. We had the opportunity to talk to representatives of SOGEA, Morocco's largest construction company, and then visit the Elec Expo, which is the largest in North Africa in terms of numbers.

On the second day we had a meeting with the CEO of Ingelec, the largest electrical engineering company operating in the region. The third day of the mission was dedicated to meetings with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of the Casablanca-Settat region. Respect for CzechTrade Morocco team!

This is a mission that makes sense

Usually we are on a mission as a scrub for political or administrative representation. But in Morocco, it was different. In a good way, the enthusiasm of the new person from the local CzechTrade, who managed to find really relevant contacts, was evident.

There is now a lively communication everywhere, which drives our Moroccan activities a lot higher than in the past. In the area of relays, we have agreed with our largest customer a major expansion of the product range. We have met an electronics manufacturer who would like to manufacture for us - but we are really very careful about this and want to keep everything important under one roof here in Hole?ov.

But above all, we are starting to enter the 'smart' world with new partners. And here the potential for Morocco is virtually endless. It's a country that has huge differences between regions and between people. There is a layer of poor people and poor cities, but also luxury villa resorts by the coast. More will be built in connection with the World Cup.

The themes are different from here - automation of shading, air conditioning, pool technology. But that makes it all the more challenging for us!