Many countries operate as economic or financial hubs for entry into wider regional markets. For instance, Hong Kong acts as a gateway to the Chinese market, while Miami has long been used to open up to the American market.
14km from Spain and an hour’s flight from Mallorca, our southern neighbour is considered by many companies to be the platform to reach the African market thanks to its strategic position, geographical location and the strong maritime and air connections it has with the African continent.
Companies in the kingdom of Morocco in sectors such as agriculture, banking, telecommunications, and construction are aware that the continent’s market potential presents many opportunities to investors in the north, which have expanded throughout the territory in recent years.
Africa has a growth rate of 5%, and has many natural resources managed inefficiently because of a lack of infrastructure or the presence of innovative companies. A Spanish or Balearic company present in Morocco that sees in Africa the opportunity to expand its business can take advantage of air and sea connections from Morocco to install its business on the southern border.
Mallorcan tourism companies already have a strong presence in Morocco, including Iberostar, Riu, Barcelo, Melia, etc. These can make the most of their existing structure in the country to expand their presence in other nearby countries such as Tunisia or Egypt, or even further to countries such as Cape Verde, Mauritius or South Africa.
It’s not just tourism companies that can benefit from Morocco acting as a gateway to Africa. Service companies and those with pioneering technologies, including startups, can also benefit. Joining with Moroccan companies to conquer the African market can be a competitive advantage and significant cost savings when embarking on the African expansion adventure.
Morocco’s advance in the “Doing Business” ranking has been due to the adoption of four main reforms which have simplified the processes for: business creation, transfer of property, cross-border trade and insolvency payments. That’s why it now ranks 75th out of 140 countries with a score of 58.5 out of 100, having risen two places compared to the previous year and improving its score in several strategic criteria: strength of institutions, quality of infrastructure, adoption of information technologies, labour market, financial system, market size, and business dynamics or capacity for innovation.
