MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir

CRI SMD - Agadir ic and social plan, introduce pu- introduce plan, and social ic facilitate the administrative pro- municipalities. Even if their their Even com- if municipalities. ntration. Morocco to date has 16 pour le programme programme pour le each region was moreover granted cies and promotional actions to be to actions and promotional cies nstituencies) and provinces (rural (rural provinces and nstituencies) businesses and investors and partici- and investors businesses

incarnation of regionalisation incarnation of Souss Massa Drâa Region have strengthened the powers of local councillors, in practice the pro- From de-concentration to decentralisation the practice in The principle of decentralisation was written into the Constitution as councillors, local of in bolstered 1976, and was until applied was not as 1962 but early powers the may the latter Whilst Charter. Municipal of the adoption the 2002 with strengthened have would be a appear to de-conce cess regions, 74 prefectures (urban co 1,500 and more than constituencies) petence varies considerably, these local authorities vote a budget, ap- prove the accounts, define an econom de- local and create may make partnerships and facilities, services blic velopment companies. Inter-authority cooperation is also promoted by law. The region, leading contact in economic matters having authority been a 1992 after in the rank of territorial Granted mere constituency for planning purposes, the region has gradually be- come the reference level of government in economic terms. Beyond the general competence of the localauthorities, the Regional Council is responsible for promoting all action likely to encourage the economic it to transferred moreover The has State region. the of development facilities and infrastructures of regional and maintenance creation the (schools, universities, hospitals, business parks). Finally, it is consulted poli development services, public on In 2002, in the region. implemented a Regional Investment Centre (CRI) to cedures of those wishing to create development. local in pate MOROCCO:

The Regional Investment Centre, Centre, Investment Regional The Cité Founty Founty Cité (68% with civil servant servant civil (68% with

State public administration State public administration 2002 in Created Promotion of the region & counsel region & counsel the of Promotion Pro-active force with national and deve- for support authorities, regional (sectoralbusi- projects lopment funds, ness parks, clusters). CRI SMD - Agadir, 333 31 BP Agadir, MOROCCO 19 people contracts, privatestatus/32% under split executives), senior all latter the the and in Agadir HQ the between Ouarzazate in office branch Executive Director of rank the has CRI the of Director The appointed (for He is Managing Director. by Royal Dahir 4 6 directly to years) (decree) Missions Resources Resources 9.5 M 9.5 Learn more Learn more Governance

Operational territory: Souss Massa Drâa Region (SMD) (SMD) Massa Drâa Region Souss territory: Operational [email protected] www.cri-agadir.ma Agricultural plains intermediate and the Drâa (Ouarzazate-Zagora) of towns Grand Agadir Urban Centre (Agadir and Inezgane-Ait Melloul) & local areas: areas: local & Melloul) Inezgane-Ait and (Agadir Centre Urban Agadir Grand Facilitation & entrepreneurship One-stop shop creators for of businesses foreign investors, and domestic and culture, entrepreneurial of promotion disputes of settlement Tel +212.528.21.92.30 Dirhams (800 k€), SEGMA budget (800Dirhams k€), SEGMA budget Servi- State Controlled (Autonomously ces) Annual operating & intervention & intervention Annual operating budget salaries): (excluding External Department of the Minis- Interior the of try the of Wali the of supervision Under Sta- the representing (Governor region documents CRI the all who signs te), Web Email MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir

Management: collective emulation at

The SMD Region, spirit of enterprise champion in Morocco Doing Business: Agadir is doing better than the OECD countries Despite its status of public organisation, human relations management According to the World Bank Subnational Doing Business report (criteria (HRM) within the CRI is highly performance-oriented. Interregional involving local decision-making power), Agadir is the region of Morocco emulation brought about by the fine benchmarking of the Subnational where it is easiest to settle athe trade service dispute. Itof takes entrepreneurship less time in Agadir Doing Business report (effective lead time to create a business, grant- than in Paris or ing of licences, transfer of property rights, performance of a contract, Istanbul. etc.) would seem to play an even more important role in the mobilisa- Furthermore, it tion of the CRI teams than HRM. The SMD Region, a traditional space takes only 93 days for entrepreneurs, has in 3 consecutive years, been considered by the on average to ob- World Bank as the No. 1 region in Morocco in terms of the improve- tain a building ment in the business climate. A real consecration for the CRI. permit there com- A team tightly knit around 3 operational departments pared with 157 for the OECD coun- The CRI relies upon senior executives with private contracts, whose tries. performance is recompensed by individual bonuses. The position of Director of the CRI, usually reserved for a senior State civil servant, You can count a from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, or the Interior Ministry, is mere 9 days to often a stepping stone towards a position of Governor or Wali. The CRI start a new activity team covers the whole of the regional territory thanks to its HQ in against around 13 Agadir, its office in Ouarzazate, and its provincial branches, run by within the OECD. executives from the provincial governments and regional prefectures. As far as the trans- Other than administrative functions, the CRI team is split into 3 depart- fer of property ments corresponding to its main missions: rights is concerned  Aid for the creation of business (5 people + 1 at Ouarzazate) the SMD region also does better  Aid for investors (3 people + 1 at Ouarzazate) than the OECD  Promotion and Cooperation (3 people) average, with 22 Lead time to execute a contract, Doing Business 2008 days against 25.

Missions: a team in the region at the service of the entrepreneur

A one-stop for all business projects in the region The CRI, a facilitator at the heart of the regional and national The first mission of the CRI is to inform, orient and support business investment commissions creators and investors gratuitously. The CRIs are thus charged with the The CRI provides the secretariat of the implementation of the Very Small Enterprise (VSE) support programme regional investment commission which Moukalawati. Using this one-stop service is highly recommended for it studies requests for authorisation for cer- enables a project to be started in a very short time. Especially since it is tain investment projects, so as to enable obligatory to use the CRI to obtain certain land-related authorisations the regional Wali to sign the appropriate (see Investors space on the CRI site: derogation for zoning plans, etc.). administrative paperwork. This commission Finally, the CRI coordinates its network of partners to put together or comprises permanent members (Urban support important projects (cf. Agadirshore project below), and pro- Agency, Regional Water and Forestry De- mote an improvement in the local business climate with the Wali and partments, and Town and Country Plan- local authorities. ning) and non-permanent members, concerned by the application being studied: local authorities, ministerial A kingpin in regional economic development delegations and other involved players. To support the entrepreneur, the CRI is in contact with: The CRI can on request assist investors - the Regional Wilaya and the Ministry of the Interior (supervision); eligible for national aid from the Inves- ment Promotion Fund (amount > MAD - the Office of Industrial Property , and Social Security (creation) ; 200 M/permanent jobs > 250/priority - the ministerial delegations, the Regional Inspection of the Habitat, territories/technology transfer/protection Town and Country Planning, local authorities and urban agencies (land of the environment) in the preparation & development schemes), and defence of their application. - the SMD Regional Council, with which it develops both the regional strategy and a number of operational tools (see box below); Finally, the CRI is responsible for controlling - The ANPME (SMEs), the ANAPEC (employment), the professional the compliance of the project with the com- chambers - CCI (support for entrepreneurship—the project SMD Initia- mitments made by its promoter in the in- tive cf. France Initiative– and training); vestment agreement signed with the State. - Invest in Morocco (strategic projects), the SMIT (stations of the Plan This function is provided by a local project Azur), and MedZ (development of business parks such as Haliopolis) progress monitoring committee .

Strategy: a challenger for Casablanca?

Souss Massa Draa among the country’s main driving forces 2005-2010 sectoral dynamics and priorities cf McKinsey According to the Ministry of Economy Portfolio analysis and regional hierarchisation of the main sectors and Finance, the region is the 2nd largest contributor to national GDP Priority 1 Fishing (incl. To ur i s m (12.2% against 19% for Greater Priority 2

High Industry) Casablanca), while only covering Priority 3 10% of national territory, and hous- GDP per sector ing 10% of its population (3 million). (million MAD) According to data from the Plan High Trend Commission, however, it is only 5th. Other industry The SMD is a crossroads area: country’s 2nd commercial port and 3rd airport hub. Handicrafts Agriculture & Agribusiness COMPETITIVENESS A strategic plan initiated by the Regional Council Cinema

 Timing : Strategy => 5 yrs (2010-2015 plan validated 12/2010) SMEs & logistics Operational plan => 1 year (defined in coordination Mining with the partners, Regional Council - RC in the lead)

 Content : Strategic orientations (consistent with national priori Low ties ) + set out in pilot actions Low High  Process: Consultation workshops (per sector and per Prefecture/ INTEREST Province) run by Regional Council (with the participation of the CRI) => Diagnosis entrusted to a well-known strategy consultancy follow- ing call for tenders from Regional Council => Approved by the RC  Sectors: Agro, Tourism, Seafoods, Offshoring, Cinema  Tools: Sectoral funds, industrial areas and Science Parks such as Haliopolis, AgadirShore & Agropole

CRI SMD - Agadir omoted by the CRI with target Creation Agrotechpositioning hub/2010)/Creation and Protected Designation Agropole offrom Taliouine"/ Origin programming Fund Project for "Saffron of the Development Local and in Products/ (study Promotion with Crédit TARGA AgricoleMorocco investment progress Fund (MAD 30 in M) Announcement in parkoffshore May at Agadir by 2010 MedZ, of subsidiary promoter CDG of and of the CasaNearshoreand Marrakesh creation andShore Rabat of Technopolis, a Fez Launch of new a 500 MWnow solar project at Ouarzazate between andCompetence 2015/Creationturbine/biomass of master and astudies for windfarms,andbiogas plants solar plan/ Centre financing Services/Atlas for of Industrial feasibility regional wind "PaysOuarzazate/Zagora, d'Accueil Chtouka AitTiznit/Station Baha, Touristique" TaroudantRestorationofKsoursandCasbahsasauthentic Taghazout and (PAT):accommodation Eco-Resort (national Imouzzer, Station fund (Plan oftourism)/microtourism fund MAD Azur); (up to 30% Immiouadar 300Investment subsidy)/ IGRANE Fund/ billion); M) 3 Fund (MAD Ouarzazate of for Cinematographic Development (Plan Biladi internal Launch of Parc8% stake Haliopolis heldtheby Regional CouncilSMD (investment of MAD 6.6 bilion), - )

Operational tools built in partnership in Operational tools built Souss Massa Drâa Region Regional Agricultural Plan - PAR Fixdownstream to South move (v. activities Build added-value up activities tertiary high Regional planrenewable for energyand efficieny energy tourismhinterland/ Cinema:Ouarzazate in make African the leaderfilm shoots of PDRT: consolidate the beachoffer, exploit resort micro

Morocco Plan Green Solar Plan/ FDE + WBClean Tech Fund Vision Vision 2020Tourism for Sector Morocco Objectives SMD projects Regional Tools consistent with national and local planning are pr schemes regional A number of businesses. They are often the fruit of regional consultation and provide financing tools, including from the private sector. Agro Seafoods Halieutis Offshoring Emergence Renew. energy Tourism- Cinema

MOROCCO:

Weaknesses Opportunities

, re- (Marrakesh motorway,tourism, business/logistics parks regional diversification roads), Tourist energy. (PDO for saffron/argan) intensive agriculture and and fishing) agriculture intensive r plant, PPP launched end 2010). launched PPP r plant, • Infrastructure investments: transport, • Cinema, agrotech, offshoring, clean assets regional of IP through •Valorisation •Lack of qualified labour • Strong dependence on 3 sectors (tourism, landlocked • Terrestrially •added-value Lowin products and services

offshoring Souss Souss and distribution-logistics Massa Draa Threats Strengths Confirmation of the main orientations of the tourism agriculture, fishing, strategy: 2005-10 Exploration of growth niches ( services of The development newal of craft industries, green economy). In 2015, Ouarzazate will host the 1st element of the Moroccan Solar sola thermodynamic (500 MW Plan agricultural producing-exporting region, downstream reinforcementof fishing sub-in destination 1st resort beach sector, income) tourist growing Morocco, groves,palm saffron, handicrafts…) especially mining,craft fishing industry… (Casablanca competition inter-regional Marrakesh, Tangiers, the OrientalRegion) Europe, (Eastern international as well as Med, Asia) • Traditional entrepreneurial dynamism • Solid of network determined partners (Leading sectors key the of •Consolidation • Wealth of the terroir (casbahs, argan, • Access to water for• under sectors Traditional pressure, agriculture • of Destruction shoreline (concretisation) increased flows: investment •Reduced Inflections of the 2010-2015 plan: diversify plan: diversify Inflections of the 2010-2015    SWOT analysis for the Souss Massa Draa for the Souss SWOT analysis

international resorts, CRI SMD - Agadir

plan Azur plan The builder-developer chosen by chosen The builder-developer 2010 Vision of Morocco for tourism. tourism. for Morocco of Vision 2010 r), as well the regional tourism fund (15%), Crédit Agri- national plan, Agadir is e regional industriale areas. ling his own promotion while the CRI provides the Souss Massa Drâa Region

Structuring an offer around regional clusters including Tamazhout in the SMD region (agreement protocol on Agadi 2011). work in of start 14/09/2010, near is call for tender is hand projects monitoring. The SMIT is also running the national tourismthe Plan Biladi of (one managed a plot an investor to propose may The CRI plan. development by the SMIT and monitor the projects. Finally, CRI contributes to the accommodation). promotion holiday programme (rural micro-tourism CRI SMDat the heart of the Haliopolis project commissions member of the a permanent The CRI is which allocate land within th In the context of the Halieutis the 1st of 3 towns (with Tangiers and Laâyoune- Dakhla) to host a seafood cluster. The Souss Massa the Igrane Draa Région (8%), Haliopolis (55%), areproject the (22%) and MedZ cole stockholders and have nominated MedZ as prime contractor. Commer- 2010. Haliopolis May in on phase 99 ha started first the of cialisation should mobilise total investments of 6.6 billion dirhams. To promote the council, local the particular, in project and this general in subsector Regional Council and the CRI have obtained the creation of the Ha- lieutis annual trade show under royal patronage, an event with interna- Meknes. at SIAM fair the model of on the ramifications, tional Facilitate the development of tourist infrastructures The Moroccan Tourist Engineering Company (SMIT) has taken in the dynamic inspired by the charge It deals with site-preparation for the MOROCCO:

the CRI SMD, an extendable 10 ha , a term which refers to all externalis- b Development Programme ( Programme b Development offshoring - P2I) has been initiated and today comprises 2 comprises and today has been initiated - P2I) operational sites at Casa and Rabat, while projects are underway in are underway projects while and Rabat, at Casa sites operational Fez, Oujda, Tetouan and Marrakesh. from lobbying determined to Thanks plot of land has been identified in Agadir, and an Agadirshore project submitted to the Ministry of Innovation and New Technologies as well 2011. for planned was announcement An official MedZ. to as The CRI obtains an AgadirShore for the Souss The CRI obtains an AgadirShore 6 “World upon is based Emergence Industrial for Pact The National Professions”, including able support activities (Business Process Outsourcing - BPO), from book -keeping, customer relation management (call centres), to third party distance application maintenance (TMA). To attract new operators, an Integrated Industrial Hu Industrielles Intégrées MOROCCO: Souss Massa Drâa Region CRI SMD - Agadir

Communication: provide the best

A constrained corporate identity A web audience which extends beyond national boundaries Unlike the SMD Regional Council, which puts its graphic The CRI communication efforts are aimed mainly at a Moroccan public. house-style, built around the colours of its logo, on all The web site receives on average 5, information000 visitors each with month, one a signifi-click media (opposite, sea blue and typical ocres), the CRI is cant proportion of which are foreigners, with the French in the lead. constrained to melt into the standards imposed on all the CRIs in Morocco (red and green logo above left). Given the Pre-investment services: the choice of accessibility lack of international knowledge of the term “Souss Massa The CRI has chosen to put on line, available to entrepreneurs, a great Drâa”, the CRI has chosen to promote the regional capital, Agadir for deal of information which is accessible with just a few clicks: its main communication media. The domain name which has been cho-  Costs of production factors (very comprehensive 40 page PDF file sen for web communication is thus www.cri-agadir.ma. updated regularly by the team); A balanced mix of paper and web media  Sectoral market data (covering 11 sectors) and territorial profiles for each of the provinces of the region; By only keeping the editorial work and entrusting the conception to  Guides to assist in the creation of a business and for investment. local advertising agencies, the CRI has managed to harmonise and stabilise the graphics of its web site and its half-yearly information bul- The CRI does not provide feasibility studies nor pre-location services. letin CRI-Agadir News, even if the colour range changes with each Nevertheless, it makes available to local business creators sets of pro- issue. With a print run of 5,000 copies on luxury coated paper, the fession-data sheets, mini market studies financed by the CRI and car- bulletin is 100% financed by highly targeted advertising. It is sent by ried out by an outside firm (coordination and tourist transport, etc.). mail regionally (businesses & administration departments, professional For some strategic projects, CRI carries out customised assignments networks, training institutes), nationally (ministries, foreign embassies (e.g. for example organising a recruitment simulation open day for a and bilateral chambers of commerce, professional associations, large large offshoring group with a local university ). corporations and Moroccan CCIs), and abroad via the embassies. The web site, financed exclusively out of the CRI budget, satisfies its dual vocation: facilitating investment (“Creator” and “Investor” Spaces providing certain electronic forms) and promoting the region. It is pub- lished theoretically in 4 languages (AR, FR, EN, SP), but only French speakers may access the whole of the content (forms included).

[email protected] ; , sea water therapy CRI SMD - Agadir

terroir the Souss puts on a show

[email protected] 16 point fibre optics Internet backbone, backbone, Internet optics fibre point 16

Souss Massa Drâa Region 02/2011 - Production & validation validation & Production - 02/2011

International promotion: 8– Telecoms infrastructure: with 12 Gps international bandwidth Tiznit areas (322 ha), industrial Sidi Bibi land offer: 8– Attractive (34ha), Parc (34ha), Ouarzazate Ifni (21ha), Sidi Teima (75ha), Ouled projects (150 ha), tourist Haliopolis 10– Renowned operators Sales pitch: 10 reasons for investing in the region reasons for investing Sales pitch: 10 of warm weather 360 days 1- 15 and 27°C) p.a. (between hub between 2– Logistics Atlan- and the Europe Africa, tic (2ndcountry’s port, 3rd airport ) 3– Interconnection links between S. and N. Morocco 4– Rich cultural and architectural heritage: Casbahs & ksours, igoudars, etc. 5- Competitiveness: 1st in tertiary 3rd in sector, primary 6– Development vision: 1st region in Morocco with an economic development strategy, 1st region in terms of improvement in business climate according to the World Bank 7– Land of charm: cultural dynamics, MOROCCO:

is counting upon cross fer- has participated in around 45 nventions,Hexagoneroad Maroc 2009 Report from the National In- National from the 2009 Report , etc. at a very low cost. The CRI network and its participation in the Invest Invest in the participation its and network ANIMA in Med programme, the CRI has managed to develop international pro- international develop CRI has managed to programme, the Med in motion action in France, in Jordan promo- and constitution the for initiative the MovieMed to contributes tion of a Mediterranean catalogue of film shooting sites. In phase with Promoting foreign investment in a network a network investment in foreign Promoting Short of sufficient means to prospect directly abroad, the CRI has chosen to capitalise on its networks: Moroccan residents abroad (MRE), EuroMediterranean cooperation networks, business networks. Thanks to of the membership its activities A surge in promotional team In recent years, the small CRI events per annum (70% locally, 20% nationally and 10% internation- ally: GulfInvest, France-Maghreb co 2011, of half-year first In the the Netherlands). in MarocPlus shows, there were already 40 events on the calendar while the number of foreign delegations received (fifty or so in 3 years) had exploded, despite a coordination with the Invest in Morocco agency which is still in its infancy. European predominance was maintained, although in 2010 the region played host to delegations from North America, Asia as well to the the According as Maghreb. vestment Commission, the SMD region is in 2nd position among the most attractive Moroccan regions, just behind Greater Casablanca. the regional promotion strategy, MovieMed strategy, promotion regional the tilisation. The film shoots in Ouarzazate should also enhance craft industries (costumes, etc.) and generate tourism (natural & architectural heritage). A special promotion office, the Ouarzazate Film Commission, was set up with support from the CRI with a one-million euro budget. Programme cofinanced by :