U.S. - North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity

Executive Summary

During the 2010 U.S.-Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO), a new public-private partnership that exists to better link entrepreneurs and business leaders in the United States and North Africa (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia). NAPEO is the regional component of Partners for a New Beginning (PNB), a collection of public-private partnerships committed to broadening and deepening engagement between the United States and local communities abroad. These initiatives were founded in support of President Obama's vision for a New Beginning based on mutual interest and respect through efforts to advance economic opportunity, science & technology, education, and exchange.

The essence of NAPEO is to be a network for entrepreneurs and business leaders from the United States and North Africa. This network will be the supporting backbone for both communities to identify, initiate and sustain projects at the Maghreb regional and local level that will foster entrepreneurship and job creation, especially for the youth. It is a meaningful, substantive and regionally-focused response to the vision laid out by President Obama at Cairo University where he called for “broader and deeper engagement” between the U.S. and Muslim communities worldwide.

This partnership will focus on three overarching goals: 1) developing stronger people-to-people relationships between the U.S. and the Maghreb, 2) promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship in the Maghreb and 3) promoting inter-regional cooperation among entrepreneurs in the Maghreb. In this framework, the public sectors and the private sectors in the U.S. and the Maghreb will work in cooperation to identify and implement specific programs. To date, five initial cross-border programs have been identified:

• Young Business Leaders and Associations Network : The program’s objective is to facilitate cross-border links among young and emerging business leaders in the Maghreb by developing a series of online initiatives and social networking platforms across the region. • Leadership and Training Academy: This program aims to strengthen the leadership, management and education-to-employment skills of targeted leaders via collaborative programming such as workshops, mini-academies and leaderships retreats. • Innovation and Technology Incubator: The program’s core objective is to promote new regional business initiatives in key sectors such as hi-tech, alternative energy, and healthcare, in order to help cultivate the local venture capital sector and support research in areas of technology and science. • Creative Industries Incubator: This program’s objective is to promote job creation, entrepreneurship, and cross-border links in the region’s cultural sector by supporting the development and sustainability of arts and culture small-and-medium businesses (SMEs). • Centers for Excellence on Entrepreneurship: The central purpose of this program is to develop capacity- building initiatives for entrepreneurial leaders in the region through strategic partnerships with prominent intellectuals, opinion-makers and private sector leaders at research centers, universities and think tanks in the United States and North Africa.

Governance Structure

The U.S. State Department and the Aspen Institute co-lead this Partnership, with the Aspen Institute serving as the Secretariat of NAPEO responsible for identifying the leadership for NAPEO, coordinating the activities of the participants, and ensuring the implementation of the Partnership activities. The Aspen Institute is a non-profit organization specialized in convening and coordinating the public and private sectors to turn ideas into action by developing operationally sustainable partnerships that support economic development, entrepreneurship and education. The Aspen Institute identifies public and private partners both in the U.S. and internationally in order to facilitate impactful and sustainable projects and programs. As the Secretariat, the Aspen Institute is actively recruiting and engaging private sector partners in the U.S. and the Maghreb to advance NAPEO's mission.

By April 2011, The Aspen Institute will select a NAPEO advisory board to serve as the leadership for NAPEO. This influential group comprised of U.S. and regional business leaders and civil society leaders will set NAPEO priorities and policies, generate broad support, and communicate with local boards in each of the five countries of the Maghreb. Similarly, the Aspen Institute will also select local advisory boards that will identify in-country needs and priorities, implement projects, identify local funds, and coordinate with the Aspen Secretariat.

Government Forum

A bi-annual meeting between North African Economic Ministers and senior State Department economic leadership will provide a forum for government-to-government dialogue on economic policy issues, entrepreneurship and regional economic integration.

Financial Model

The U.S. government has already provided initial seed funding for this partnership to support the start-up of the NAPEO Secretariat and some initial programming. The long-term financial model for this partnership relies on building direct business to business relationships between people and organizations active in the NAPEO network. The people and organizations involved in NAPEO will directly invest funding for business ventures and programming as well as make contributions for the ongoing operations of the NAPEO Secretariat.

Priority Projects and Action Items 2011-2012:

• The Atlantic Council of America will design an online platform to be launched in September 2011 that will connect young Maghreb entrepreneurs to experienced business leaders and mentors. The online platform will feature resources and tools for investors and entrepreneurs throughout the Maghreb and connect with their U.S counterparts.

• Education for Employment (EFE) has received a $3.15 million grant to expand their job placement and training operations in Morocco. As part of NAPEO, EFE will recruit Maghreb youth for job placement and training in Morocco as well as expand programming to Algeria and Tunisia.

• The Civilian Research and Development Fund (CRDF) will launch the Maghreb Digital Library in June 2011. This digital library will be a resource for access to scientific research and information.

• The Algeria Start-Up Initiative’s successful business competition model will expand both in Algeria and throughout the region. By January 2012, we plan to launch an official Maghreb Start-up Initiative that will identify promising start-ups and provide mentoring from Maghreb diaspora entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley to train entrepreneurs throughout the region in developing a business plan. Start-up funding will be provided to winning business plans.

• The Department of State will lead a Maghreb Entrepreneurship Delegation of entrepreneurs and investors in June or October 2011 to meet with start-up companies, explore the entrepreneurship environment, and provide mentoring to the winner of a small business competition in each country. This will be the first step towards building a NAPEO Business Angels Network.

• Intel Corporation will expand their Intel Teach training programs throughout North Africa. These programs help professors and teachers integrate technology and entrepreneurship tools into their university curriculum.

• The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) expects to organize a Maghreb Solar Energy Reverse Trade Mission (RTM) for summer or fall 2011 that would bring delegates from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia to the United States to see U.S. technology and meet with equipment suppliers.

• Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship and Creative Leaps International will implement entrepreneurship, business and leadership training programs for artists through online courses and in-person training sessions and workshops.

• In partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office , the U.S. Copyright Office , and the World Intellectual Property Organization , the Department of State will lead a Cultural Entrepreneurs Delegation to the Maghreb in fall 2011 to meet with leading cultural figures and entrepreneurs to provide mentoring and workshops on intellectual property rights best practices, success stories and tools.

• The Department of State will invite members of the Maghreb diaspora to participate in the Secretary’s first Global Diaspora Forum in May 2011, including a panel on NAPEO engagement with diaspora communities and a NAPEO side event for diaspora leaders with the Aspen Institute.

• The NAPEO Secretariat will bring an American Universities Partner Delegation to North Africa to connect and develop partnerships that support Maghreb university exchanges and quality of higher education in the region. Partnerships between universities will allow for online courses, student and faculty exchange, research collaboration and curriculum development.

• The Confederation Generale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM) along with the Aspen Institute and the U.S. Department of State will organize the second annual U.S. – Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference in Casablanca in early 2012.

For more information regarding NAPEO, please contact Vanessa Zuabi, Associate Director, The Aspen Institute at 202.721.5598 or [email protected] .