Morocco’s economic strategy in Africa : The Cherifian model of co-development

Prepared by Professor Ahmed Azirar, Asmaa Fhail and Hicham Kasraoui, this Policy Paper, which contributes to the continental debate on Africa's economic and strategic challenges, and Morocco's pioneering role in this new dynamic, attempts at first to identify the characteristics of Morocco's economic strategy in Africa. IMIS experts then define a 360° analysis framework to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks relating to Morocco's economic action on the continent. This analytical framework makes it possible to identify 4 guiding principles, namely the maximization of continental added value, the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach to development, the native sustainability of the development model, and the materialization of the "one continent, one infrastructure" concept.The analysis is also based on a quadruple model comprising 4 pillars: positioning strategies in promising business fields, investment financing issues, human capital and economic and financial governance. For the authors of this Policy Paper, Morocco is undeniably demonstrating that it has a clear and ambitious vision for the development of its continent, and that it is implementing it diligently. In this context, the study recommends 8 concrete actions for key players to take into the future. These actions include boosting the Kingdom's attractiveness as a key African destination and establishing itself as a hub for decarbonizing industry in Africa. This analysis, which aims to enlighten Moroccan stakeholders on the real growth potential of the African continent at the dawn of the geostrategic and economic transformations underway, proposes concrete ways to seize the co-development opportunities of an "Africa region" emerging and changing in a reconfigured world.