Morocco's investments in Africa, an asset for the continent
Abdelhakim ELFARKANE
Head Librarian | Translation, Copywriting, Project Management | Engaged observer
Morocco's investments in Africa , which have increased significantly over the last twenty years, contribute to the strengthening of transregional cooperation.
A CHANGE OF MINDSET
While Moroccan investors have long considered sub-Saharan Africa as a "difficult region to access, since the early 2000s, there has been a paradigm shift," says Abdou Diop, president of the Africa Commission of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), who is also managing partner for Morocco of Mazars, a firm specializing in audit, taxation and consulting.
“We witnessed a significant shift in mindset as Moroccan champions began to emerge and actively sought out new markets to expand their operations. The private sector then reconsidered the risks in order to seize more opportunities, ”explains Mr. Diop, who advised many Moroccan companies, including the Attijariwafa bank , during their first steps in the region.
Under the impetus of the country's main banks — BMCE Capital , Attijariwafa bank , Banque Centrale Populaire - BCP — as well as the telecommunications company Maroc Telecom , the 2000s gave rise to a first wave of investments, focused on French-speaking West Africa, which shares a language and historical links with Morocco.
From 2010, investment flows diversified to other sectors and parts of the continent, driven by companies such as phosphate exporter OCP Group , real estate Addoha C?te d'Ivoire or pharmaceutical company Cooper Pharma .
A subsidiary of the OCP Group , a world leader in the phosphate fertilizer market, OCP AFRICA was created in 2016 and provides fertilizers adapted to the needs of crops in the region. Based in Morocco, OCP AFRICA now operates in 16 countries across the continent, including Cameroon, Rwanda and Zambia.
FUNDING THE CONTINENT
Morocco, whose foreign direct investment in Africa exceeded $800 million in 2021, according to the Ministry of Finance, has become the second largest African investor on the continent, behind South Africa, and the first in West Africa.Morocco’s investments in Africa, an asset for the continent
“Moroccan companies have realized that their future lies in the south rather than the north. Our goal is to support them in this dynamic and to help finance African economies, especially the private sector, "says Mr. Bouabid. “We believe that Morocco has a card to play to finance the continent and can serve as an intermediary between Europe and Africa.”
Bank Of Africa plans to continue its expansion strategy in the coming years and increase the number of its subsidiaries on the continent from 19 to 25 by 2030, according to Mr. Bouabid. Particular attention will be given to Central Africa, where the bank's presence is still relatively small, as well as to lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of the region's economies.
As part of its commitment to support the growth of the private sector and the development of trans-regional trade in Africa, IFC has helped several Moroccan groups to strengthen their presence in the region.
Since the early 2000s, IFC has supported the expansion of major Moroccan banking and insurance groups such as BCP, Attijariwafa Bank, BOA, SAHAM Group and Groupe Holmarcom , promoting access to finance across the continent.
IFC also partnered with Ciments de l'Afrique , owned by the Moroccan company Omnium des Industries et de la Promotion (OIP), to strengthen cement production in West Africa, with OCP Africa to support food security on the continent, and with Dolidol , the Kingdom's leading bedding manufacturer, to help expand its business in Nigeria.
"SHARE OUR EXPERTISE”
In Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and economic capital, the furniture brand KITEA is one of these companies focusing on Africa. From a small store of 300 m2 opened in 1993, the group is now present in 17 cities in Morocco with 31 points of sale, where it offers indoor and outdoor furniture, decoration and office items for the general public.
The company is now beginning to expand on the continent. It last year opened a 12,000 m2 shopping mall in Accra (Ghana ) and acquired a majority stake in Furniture Palace, the number one retail furniture retailer in Kenya. It plans to gain a foothold, by 2025, in four other African countries, including Senegal and C?te d 'Ivoire.
"Africa is the logical continuation of the development of our activities in Morocco," explains Othman Benkirane, its CEO. "We perceive numerous business opportunities across the continent, particularly in West Africa where we maintain strong connections with these countries. Therefore, it's only natural for us to seek expansion of our presence in that region."
For Mr. Benkirane, the extension of activities in Africa is also a matter of regional integration, because it allows a transfer of skills and the creation of synergies.
“As Moroccans, we take pride in contributing to the development of Africa by sharing our expertise and experience,” he adds. “And we arrive in all humility. Not so long ago, Morocco faced challenges similar to those faced by many African countries, especially in terms of logistics. We haven't solved all our problems, but we have some keys to success to share.”
This sharing of knowledge, resources and technology among developing countries — referred to as South-South cooperation — is playing an increasing role in the international development sector, particularly in areas such as food security, sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation.
This dynamic is accompanied by a rapid development of South-South trade, which has experienced a remarkable boom in recent years and reached $5.3 trillion in 2021, exceeding the volume of trade between developing and developed countries, according to the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
领英推荐
KING MOHAMMED VI
?One man has been instrumental in promoting greater South-South collaboration and how Moroccan companies perceive Africa: its king. Since his accession to the throne in 1999, Mohammed VI has actively defended an African strategy, both diplomatically and economically, making numerous visits to the region.
In a famous speech, delivered in Abidjan on the occasion of the opening of an economic forum between Morocco and C?te d 'Ivoire in 2014, the King said: "Credibility dictates that the wealth of our continent benefits, in the first place, the African peoples. This assumes that South-South cooperation is at the heart of their economic partnerships."
Given the growing number of Moroccan companies gaining maturity and international expansion capabilities, Moroccan investments in Africa are likely to grow in the coming years.
“Moroccan companies have gained expertise in a number of sectors and can share their best practices and help increase productivity in the region,” says Thomas Pellerin of IFC. “They have also developed a taste for risk, agility and resilience in challenging environments, and are positioning themselves as long-term investors in Africa. "
At the same time, some African actors are also starting to take an interest in investment opportunities in the Kingdom. In 2018, for example, South African financial services group Sanlam acquired a majority stake in Moroccan insurance company Saham Finances, becoming the continent's largest insurer.
On the side of the CGEM, Mr. Diop also believes that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area ( African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat ) has the potential to strengthen the links between Morocco and Africa. According to the World Bank, Moroccan exports to sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only 6% of the Kingdom's total exports in 2021.
The AfCFTA was created in 2018 with the aim of constituting a single continental market for 1.3 billion Africans. It is the largest free trade area in the world by the number of countries participating in it.
Mr. Diop points out, for example, that the Moroccan automotive industry is well positioned to serve as a catalyst for the development of industries in various African countries, such as natural rubber in Ghana and C?te d 'Ivoire or lithium in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The AfCFTA offers the continent an opportunity to strengthen the complementarity of its value chains,” he says. “And countries like Morocco, which have already linked their value chains to the global economy, can play a leading role in this. "
In 2020, BMCE, Morocco's third largest bank, decided to change its name to Bank Of Africa , the name of its Sub-Saharan African subsidiary acquired 15 years earlier.
Much more than a change of brand, this approach illustrates the way in which this institution, created as a public bank in the 1950s, has established itself as a major player in the African financial sector, with today activities in more than twenty countries on the continent.
“This was a bold decision, which surprised our Moroccan customers, who have been used to using the historic name for decades,” says Amine Bouabid, Managing Director of the Bank of Africa Group (BOA). “But the group really wanted to have a single brand for all of Africa."
The expansion of Bank of Africa south of the Moroccan borders is not an isolated case. Over the past twenty years, a growing number of Moroccan companies have indeed sought to strengthen their ties with the rest of the continent. According to the Ministry of Finance, the Kingdom's foreign direct investment in Africa increased eightfold between 2014 and 2021.
"Morocco occupies a unique position in Africa," explains Rabat Thomas Pellerin, head of manufacturing and services for the Maghreb and West Africa for IFC.
“For many international investors, especially European ones, Morocco's geographical location and level of development make it an entry point to the African continent. At the same time, with Morocco having a strong industrial and service base, Moroccan companies are now looking abroad, especially to Africa, to develop, "he adds.
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Head Librarian | Translation, Copywriting, Project Management | Engaged observer
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