Africa Rising: Morocco is Leading the Way
Why the U.S engagement in Africa is so critical now & how Morocco can help
Asia and China have defined the idea of economic miracles as they boot-strapped their way to growth over the last 50 years.
Africa has barely been in the conversation in the United States, where engagement with the continent has been on a stop start roller-coaster for decades.
That does not mean Africa’s 54 countries have not been transformed over the last two decades. Perceptions of Africa need a rapid update. As many of the speakers at last week’s Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Marrakech shared, it’s time to shift perceptions from Africa as a problem, to being the solution to global challenges.
Six of the world’s 10 fastest growing countries are in Africa. Seventy percent of its population is under 30 and what may come as the biggest surprise technology is one of the continent’s many superpowers. Having made the leap to mobile technologies, e-commerce, banking and access to the internet ahead in general through small screens.
Even the cognoscenti may be surprised that Africa is focused on content, streaming and broadband access for hard-to-reach populations – decidedly first world technology issues. Africa’s technology miracle is powering economic growth, mergers and acquisitions across the continent and industrial production creating jobs for an expanding middle class.
Morocco, strategically positioned in North Africa’s Mediterranean coast, is at the forefront of the continents’ economic revolution. The visionary steps it has taken over the last two decades under King Mohammed VI to invest in public private partnership-based industrial zones and infrastructure are being used as a model for the continent.
In a region known as a provider of resources for other industrialized economies, over the last 15 years the country has developed an automotive industry with major European & Japanese partners that is today the largest exporter of vehicles to Europe. It’s important to pause here. Morocco’s automotive plants build more cars for export to Europe than Japan and any other nation. It’s not just assembling vehicles – 65 percent of the parts are made in Morocco as part of a thriving automotive ecosystem. Fifteen years ago, there was nothing and today 200,000 Moroccans are employed in the industry. The $7 billion revenues from auto manufacturing today exceed its revenues from its phosphate fertilizer industry.
The combination of economic, political, and social stability, visionary leadership, investor-friendly climate, and dynamic business environment has enabled Morocco to build from a clean-sheet an expanding industrial base across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, technology and agriculture. On the principle of health equals wealth, as it grows its industrial base, it is building out new healthcare and social systems to meet its people’s needs.
Morocco’s industrial economic miracle is being used and seen as a template for other countries on the African Continent, as is its approach to free trade. Morocco’s free trade agreement with the United States, with which it has a special relationship - it was the first country to recognize America’s independence – has offered a model for the ambitious Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.
With 43 countries having signed up and more on the way, the AfCFTA promises to unlock trade not only within the Africa but provide greater opportunities for the block to collaborate across borders and industries to be able to compete more effectively in global marketplaces. With Africa accounting for almost a fifth of the world’s population yet currently only 4% of its trade, there is nowhere to go but up, propelled by its young, talented workforce.
Africa’s leaders in Marrakech for the Business Summit outlined that work still needs to be done and that challenges lie ahead, but unanimously underscored the confidence in the opportunity, the strength of talent, and the potential of its people, industries and agriculture to have a role in addressing global challenges.
There is also a clear recognition for the value and benefits from partnerships with U.S. and European companies, technologies and solutions that can be leveraged to accelerate the continued transformation of Africa’s economies. Continued investment in infrastructure to, for example, increased solar electricity production, freedom of trade, unlocking the economic potential of women, enhancing the educational opportunities, reducing barriers to the free flow of people and partnerships based on mutual respect and benefits are just some of the areas of focus,
If the 20th century was defined by Asia’s economic miracle, the 21st will be defined by Africa’s – with Morocco leading the way in North Africa. The U.S. will have an important role to play, but it needs to stay engaged. The U.S. government’s announcement that it will hold the next U.S. Africa Leaders Forum this December – the first since the Obama Administration in 2014 – is a significant and important step in this process. One that will build on the work of the State Department, the Millennium Capital Corporation and growing numbers of U.S. companies engaging in with the Continent.
There have been many false starts, but this time Africa is off and running.