Morocco ‘Promising Land’ For Finnish Businesses

Rabat – Opening the gateway for a large market of up to one billion customers, Morocco is a go-to destination for Finnish businesses and investors, a webinar organized by the Finnish embassy in Rabat assessed last week. 

The webinar, held on November 24 around the theme “Morocco gateway to Africa,” aimed to present and explain the various business opportunities available to Finnish businesses in Morocco.

The webinar featured the Moroccan Ambassador to Finland, Mohammed Ariad, the Finnish Ambassador to Morocco, Hyvonen Pekka, as well as representatives of Finnish companies operating in Morocco with success stories to share.

Ambassador Pekka inaugurated the webinar, delivering a short summary of successful diplomatic ties uniting Morocco and Finland. 

Shortly after, the ambassador delivered a short presentation of the strategic location of Morocco and the robust infrastructure network that makes the North African country an attractive business destination.

“Morocco is different from other continental African countries,” he said, highlighting the country’s advanced infrastructure established to satisfy the needs of people and businesses alike.

Read also: Is ‘Morocco Now’ a New Moroccan Standard, or Just Marketing?

The Finnish diplomat went as far as to say that Morocco could well be in the league of European countries in terms of business infrastructure.

“The picture summaries it all,” said the ambassador, referring to a picture of the Tangier Med port.

Morocco’s crown jewel Tangier MedPort is the biggest port in the Mediterranean sea, reaching over 200 ports worldwide.

In his presentation, the Moroccan Ambassador in Helsinki focused on how Moroccan and Finnish businesses can benefit from stronger bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Finnish businesses can help Moroccan businesses digitalize at a much faster rate, said Ambassador Ariad. 

With the 45 Free Trade Agreements Morocco has signed with different countries in recent years, the country can help Finnish companies expand beyond the swimmingly small Finnish market and reach over one billion consumers, argued the Moroccan diplomat. 

Why invest in Morocco?

Ali Mehraz, who heads the strategic partnerships department at the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency AMDI, offered an exhaustive account of what Morocco has to offer to businesses looking to grow and expand in Africa and beyond. 

While MENA region countries were weakened by the 2011 Arab spring, Morocco emerged unscathed from that period of regional turmoil in large part because the Moroccan government seized the opportunity to implement a series of liberal legal and political reforms. 

In addition to its European-grade business infrastructure, Morocco’s strongest asset remains political stability, according to Ali Mehraz. 

Morocco’s newly adopted New Development Model, centered around strong human capital, adds to the North African country’s strong business portfolio, he argued. 

In recent years, Morocco has stepped up its effort to create market-oriented vocational centers and to encourage young people to join these centers. 

During the webinar, many experts agreed that Morocco’s young population and cheap labor market offer significant incentives to foreign investors. 

Morocco’s economic and business indexes have been steadily on the rise since 2005. The North African country’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) tripled in the past decade, with the inflation rate tightly under control.

Rand Merchant Bank, a leading investment bank in Africa, recently ranked Morocco’s pro-business environment as the second-best on the African continent.

In terms of government incentives, the Moroccan government delivers tailor-made incentives and significant tax cuts to attract businesses.

“When investors think about Africa, they think of infrastructure limitations. That is not the case in Morocco,” Mehraz said. 

The country has a world-class infrastructure network, with 1000 roads and highways, and the first high-speed train in Africa.

Success stories in Morocco

The spokesperson for Nokia, Bassem Bennani, explained that the Finish telecommunication giant has chosen Morocco to hold its headquarters in the region for a number of reasons.

After establishing itself in Morocco in the 1970s, Nokia’s headquarters in the North African country is now running operations in 22 countries. 

Less than 10 years after opening its first branch in Morocco, Nokia decided to make the country the African hub for its operations thanks to the availability of resources, Bennani said.

Skilled and trilingual engineers, the strong ties Morocco has with African countries as well as Arab countries facilitated the process of building business relations, he argued.

“Morocco’s proximity to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East made it easy for us to arrange two to three business flights a day,” said Bennani.