GITEX Africa 2023 Appears to be like to Unlock Morocco’s Tech Potential

GITEX‘s inaugural occasion in Africa made its debut in Marrakech, Morocco on 31 Could to 2 June. Tens of hundreds of attendees from throughout the continent and past attended to go to over 900 exhibiting firms, over 250 convention audio system and 30 authorities delegates from African nations. On the occasion, we discovered how Morocco is profiting from turning into a hub for African progress. 

Forty-two years after its inception, GITEX Africa 2023 represents the primary time a GITEX occasion has been hosted outdoors of Dubai. The Morocco-based occasion centered closely on making a platform to assist collaboration and dismantle a few of the obstacles and factors of friction between Africa’s 54 nations.

In the meantime, the occasion additionally championed Morocco’s personal tech ecosystem and startups, with an purpose to bolster its personal progress: by showcasing over 100 of the corporations working inside its borders.

Following a gap ceremony, full with the Moroccan nationwide anthem, Aziz Akhannouch, Morocco’s Head of Authorities, defined the importance of Marrakech being GITEX’s metropolis of option to host the occasion, which has established a excessive degree of notoriety within the tech world, while in Dubai.

“Marrakech is an emblem of the cultural heritage of Morocco,” he defined. Akhannouch additionally mentioned how GITEX Africa may create a brand new platform to assist “set up a robust pan-African financial system”.

Chakib Alj, president of the Basic Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, mirrored the sentiment of Akhannouch and declared that Marrakech internet hosting the occasion is an “affirmation of Morroco’s efforts” throughout current years. Alj then commented on the “expertise panorama that’s now enticing to international traders” that Morocco has created.

Encouraging and attracting higher ranges of funding from international VCs and the non-public sector was additionally a recurring level through the occasion’s keynotes and panel classes. Akhannouch himself referred to as for this and urged Africa to “additional develop and encourage funding in startups, small and medium-sized companies and encourage innovation in AI and IoT” as a way to capitalise on its distinctive place.

Why Morocco?

Trixie Lohmirman, govt vp of the Dubai World Commerce Centre and CEO of KAOUN Worldwide, the worldwide occasions firm and organiser of GITEX Africa, spoke to The Fintech Occasions on what made Morocco, and particularly Marrakech, a really perfect host location for the worldwide expertise occasion:

“You want a vacation spot that has robust infrastructure, whether or not it’s connectivity or street transport. It will need to have a robust business to underpin it, whether or not it’s a robust monetary sector, automotive manufacturing or agriculture, to offer it the impetus for progress.

“The federal government concerned additionally wanted to have a superb digital transformation programme to assist the event of the occasion going ahead within the subsequent few years,” she stated.

Lohmirman additionally defined that Marrakech’s geographical location made it a robust contender for turning into the host: “It connects the Japanese and Western worlds, whereas additionally connecting to the North. Being a Francophone nation can be necessary. So, geographically, the connections accessible give a number of power to Marrakech.

“We wanted a number of cooperation with the federal government to make an occasion like this occur and we’re very grateful to the Moroccan authorities for making this occur. Now we have facilitated incoming guests and attendees from over 100 nations up to now”.

Explaining how the occasion may show helpful to Morocco’s personal startups and SMEs, Lohmirman stated: “The industries in Africa can now preserve tempo with the remainder of the world. GITEX Africa can assist Moroccan firms in maintaining tempo with opponents throughout the globe. This occasion may also help present the momentum and openness to advertise change throughout the continent. GITEX is all in regards to the energy of individuals and expertise,” Lohmirman commented.

Morocco’s greatest challenges

Regardless of a optimistic outlook on the way forward for each Morroco and the African continent, Chakib Alj shone some mild on a few of the most urgent challenges the African expertise ecosystem finds itself in: “Regardless of a quickly rising variety of customers, the web penetration charge in 2021 was solely 41 per cent.

“Bridging this hole is crucial. Attracting and retaining expertise can be an necessary problem to think about. We are able to make African abilities keep right here and thrive, by investing in and making a vibrant expertise ecosystem. We have to unlock extra funding for startups and make them, and this area, extra enticing to traders.”

Habiba Ben Barka, chief Africa part on the United Nations Convention for Commerce and Improvement (UNCTAD), additionally defined the problems pertaining to the non-public sector: “The non-public sector has a major function by way of diversifying commerce on the continent. The difficulty of the non-public sector in Africa is they’re principally small, micro or medium-sized, within the case of serious challenges. Entry to finance has been a fantastic burden on them to have the ability to speed up the transformation of African economies and people are a few of the points we’re and the way we may leverage a few of the financing companies.”

The function of the regulator in Morocco

The function of the regulator in each Morocco’s successes and failures additionally emerged as an necessary speaking level in a lot of the classes on stage at GITEX Africa 2023. Ismael Belkhayat, founder and CEO of Morocco-based e-commerce app Chari, touched on the optimistic results of regulation in recent times:

“Morocco is a neighborhood champion relating to banking. Now we have very robust banks which have carried out a fantastic job banking with the employees but in addition increasing outdoors of our boundaries and we’re very pleased with it. We’re additionally very pleased with the regulator, which has put in place the suitable authorized framework to make that occur.”

Regardless of the positives, a sense that current regulatory laws is just too strict to allow innovation additionally emerged on stage a lot of occasions. Mehdi Tazi, normal vp of the Confederation of Moroccan Corporations, defined how this regulatory panorama is at the moment slowing progress: “Morocco has a really regulated financial system. That is good as a result of the banking and insurance coverage sectors are very robust. Nevertheless, it doesn’t create a beneficial surroundings for smaller monetary companies and fintechs.

“We additionally want to search out new financing options. Financing exists for smaller firms at an early stage, however we don’t discover sufficient financing to assist corporations go additional.”

In an effort to ease a few of the points the Moroccan tech ecosystem is experiencing, Tazi additionally defined that the nation must “proceed coaching its younger individuals” and mentioned the confederation’s goals trying to make this a actuality: “We wish to attain 15,000 individuals educated within the AI growth and cybersecurity sectors”.

A optimistic subsequent step for Moroccan progress

A large variety of African startups have been in a position to showcase their capabilities and meet potential clients, companions and traders on the occasion. One-hundred Morocco-based startups have been chosen to kind the ‘Morocco100’, an initiative created to assist them in better-attracting traders on the occasion.

One among many Moroccan fintech exhibitors on the occasion was Mehdi Zirari, the chief product officer and co-founder of KONTA, who spoke to The Fintech Occasions about how GITEX Africa may gain advantage different fintechs from the nation: “The principle profit is to assist them in increasing their attain. It could actually assist them be taught a bit of bit extra in regards to the variations between African nations – as a result of all of them have completely different laws. The occasion affords the chance to rapidly perceive that there are variations between all nations and to search out the suitable markets.”

“We had the chance to satisfy with potential purchasers, like resolution suppliers that may assist us attain their very own market, like in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Nigeria. We have been in a position to contact them and due to this fact discover companions that know these markets, and if every part matches, have the ability to attain them”.

With the GITEX occasion already planning its return to Africa subsequent 12 months, the way forward for Morocco’s expertise and monetary companies could be coming into a brand new chapter, alongside the remainder of the continent.