country and that prevent it from achieving development, and I have come to understand that

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1 Mouline 1 Introduction As a Finance Major in a developing country, I am all too aware of the issues that plague my country and that prevent it from achieving development, and I have come to understand that entrepreneurship and small businesses might be the most efficient way of attaining economical accomplishment and financial autonomy. I have thus personally worked with a friend in order to launch the first online advertising agency in Morocco because we knew that this project would impact both the way advertising is done and perceived in Morocco and that it would create added value by developing the field of Marketing. In Morocco, the tenth decile of the population owns 51 times more wealth than the first decile and yet this figure is merely one of the many indicators of unequal repartition of revenue in my country. I thus propose the promotion of entrepreneurial efforts as a key to the development of a self-sustaining, future-oriented society. My essay is meant to first assess the societal benefits of entrepreneurship, then to examine the problems that prevent it from fully developing in Morocco, and finally to determine what should be done to encourage it in this country. The Potential Benefits of Entrepreneurship on Our Society I must confess that before taking a course on entrepreneurship, I had only a vague idea of what being an entrepreneur involved and I had not completely grasped the implications of this activity on the economy and on society as a whole. I have since then understood that entrepreneurship might actually be one of the solutions to Morocco s economical problems and that its positive impacts must be stressed upon. For instance, if we take the example of the United States and study the data on entrepreneurial activity, it appears that most small businesses are in the service economy or in retailing and that they

2 Mouline 2 contribute to creating jobs in these fields. What is also interesting to note is that although technological development is already at its highest in this country, small businesses still succeed in finding ideas in that domain to serve new consumer needs by creating new markets and a new demand. This is important because it shows that there are many niches in all sectors of activities, regardless of their nature, and that a motivated entrepreneur with sufficient funds can exploit it with success while contributing to his or her society by hiring a few others and saving them from poverty. Of course, the impact of entrepreneurial activity on the national GDP cannot be ignored especially if it leads to a self-sustaining, solid economy with a growing domestic demand. It is also probable that entrepreneurship will change the consumption of the population by creating a supply of cheaper, locally made products that adapt perfectly to the very limited means of a large number of Moroccans. After doing a study on the evolution of consumption in my country, I realized that most Moroccans consumed mainly basic products meant to satisfy their primary needs. Because of the high price of such products, which are sometimes imported or are affected by the increase in the world demand, the consumption of Moroccans is limited. Nationally-made substitutes could indirectly increase the buying power of people and allow them to allocate cash differently to perhaps later attain mass consumption. A business-friendly environment is also likely to attract foreign entrepreneurs from other African countries and contribute to the transfer of competencies and skills to the Moroccan labor. Entrepreneurship in Morocco is majorly Moroccan but a few foreign nationalities have started to come to Morocco to do business and this contributes to the general effort for a growth of the GDP. I take as an example the Chinese Diaspora that finds in my country an emerging market where they can prosper fast, meaning that their work methods could spread to Moroccan workers and influence the traditional business model used here. Regarding the consequences of entrepreneurship on social values, I believe that this activity can

3 Mouline 3 resolve several flaws in the general mentality and mindset of Moroccans. Launching and running a personally-owned small enterprise will force entrepreneurs to assume personal liability for operations and to their customers and suppliers. It will also create a future orientation for these people as well as teach them to value achievement and tenacity over money and low commitment, thus shaping an attitude toward life and work that might spread to the whole society. Presently, the Moroccan mentality does nothing to prevent corruption and disinterest in the well-being of society, which leads to a prevalence of self-interest over the interest of the overall population. Among the problems caused is a persistent and pervasive corruption, an interest in quick cash with no qualms or long-term involvement, and a complete disregard of hard work, all of which are obstacles to development and selfsustainment in my country. In an active, developing country such as Morocco, entrepreneurship could also play a role in liberalizing mentalities and shifting morals from a traditional and very religious standpoint. As a woman, I am more expected to have children and a house to take care of than a business and my professional freedom is limited as a result. Very few women reach the level of education I have and even if they do, moving up the hierarchy in national companies or international firms subsidiaries can often prove to be difficult. Sexual harassment is present even in the workplace as is casual misogyny, and creating small companies could become a form of empowerment. Women in Morocco would be able to take up their own destinies and work independently doing what they enjoy. The Situation in Morocco As an undergraduate student, I have had the occasion to observe my classmates and study their own interest in entrepreneurship and small business creation, and I have noticed that the majority of students in my school have no interest in entrepreneurship nor do they understand its positive impact on society and the economy. It appears that the dominant ideal work position is for many found within a

4 Mouline 4 corporation, working relatively little and somehow earning a high salary, although I personally know of several people who try to launch a business, one of which I have worked with. The problem with this lack of entrepreneurial spirit is that it persists in the face of undeniable proof that there are plenty of business ideas that can be launched in Morocco. Because of our underdeveloped economy, the service industry as well as the production of goods is still lacking and could be further developed much more easily than in a developed economy where all types of goods and services already exist. Several problems plague the way to small enterprise creation and are in my opinion the reason why so many people seem to have no interest in the idea of owning and running their very own business: - Lack of funds: This is the main and foremost obstacle to entrepreneurship in this country. Because of the unequal repartition of wealth, many students have very little capital although they sometimes have great ideas, and the difficulty of obtaining a loan for small enterprise launch complicates their situation. Family members and friends are not a reliable source of funds because of their distrust of entrepreneurship, and there exists no organization of private investors or angels a future entrepreneur can contact. - Inexistent future orientation or interest in long-term prosperity: The Moroccan mindset is shaped in such a way that the population does not value patience and hard work anymore, but rather, tries at all cost to find the one true way to wealth without effort. Youth is not taught sufficiently that achievement cannot be obtained magically without any effort, nor that it is more important to the country than personal prosperity. In my school, there is a disinterest in efforts on the long term and a generalized tendency to never do more than what is expected because of this lack of persistence. - Insufficient technical entrepreneurial education: Although all business schools and faculties offer entrepreneurship courses, they are usually relatively short and also do not include the realization of an actual business plan with customer surveys and similar tools. My school curriculum for instance only

5 Mouline 5 offers one entrepreneurship course and I did not make an actual business plan for it nor was I required to think up any idea for a small business as it is done in other business schools in Morocco. This lack of emphasis on entrepreneurship leaves young people unprepared for a successful venture. - No social value attached to entrepreneurial activity: Morocco, much like Asian culture, has no disposition towards entrepreneurship mainly because it takes more into consideration the risks of failure and personal ruin than the possibility to create new goods and services, new jobs and an alternative to the regular corporate route. As a result, a young Moroccan announcing his ambition to launch his own business will be discouraged and reminded of all the threats he will face, unless his idea requires little investment and no fixed assets just like most services companies. This severely limits the possibilities of entrepreneurial creativity and is not viable because our country is immediately in need of goods and of a strong industry rather than services. - Sexual segregation in the professional world: The education of women is much more inferior to that of men and this causes less of them to attain higher education and learn the skills they need to manage a business by themselves. They are also less trusted than men and are less likely to get as many clients as a male-led small business because of their underrepresentation in the workplace that prevents them from establishing their competency. - Lack of technology-oriented education: The fact that most university-educated entrepreneurs remain unfamiliar with technology makes them unable to exploit it to create services or even to promote the goods they sell online, thus limiting the market share they can have and the potential customers they can reach. Also, because there are only a little number of forums of website design freelancers, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to hire someone to build a suitable website at a reasonable price. However, it is important to note that entrepreneurship could thrive in Morocco because the fact that several products and services have still not been introduced to Morocco creates huge business

6 Mouline 6 opportunities to satisfy a demand that already exists in the richest regions of the country. Likewise, Morocco proposes several types of business available to the entrepreneur and adapted to the various sizes of small businesses. Beside the typical sole proprietorship, there exist three types of small enterprises forms with or without limited liabilities which allow for an easier establishment of small businesses in this country. Among university-educated students, I have also witnessed many think up business ideas because of the professional activity of their parents or after experiencing some kind of problem. For instance, after having difficulties visiting a village famous for its manufacture of byproducts of roses in the South of Morocco, I designed the project of a short bus expedition to this village for tourists and Moroccans alike that I intend to realize once I graduate. It can be said in conclusion that once efforts are made to push entrepreurial activity to grow and be recognized as a valid destiny, the repercussions on the country will be countless. What Can be Done to Promote Entrepreneurship in Morocco Regardless of the difficulties that entrepreneurs of Morocco might encounter, their activity can be promoted and encouraged on the long-term with a few improvements and innovations. - Incubators: University incubators in Morocco are either adapted to actual business incubation because they are under founded and generally disregarded by the boards of directors, or simply do not exist. There is no known external incubator functioning by itself as a stand-alone organization, even in the bigger cities. This absence of structure prevents future entrepreneurs from getting started because they have no place where they can explain their idea, find funds, develop their small business and find a local to start it. Setting up incubators in the biggest cities of Morocco with corresponding websites will facilitate the creation process by providing information and advice, and will form a business hub concentrating all the necessary information to correctly start a small business. These incubators could be

7 Mouline 7 established by the government or by private investors in the largest cities of the country in order to diversify the expertise and services provided in each incubator. - Scholarships and Business Contests: Making it possible for future entrepreneurs to get a fair amount of cash easily is important because it can both represent the first step toward the establishment in the case of a small goods production business and because it could covers the costs of a service firm. Since the sources of funds in Morocco are very limited, and taking into consideration the fact that someone trying to launch his business cannot even use part-time jobs because they are very badly paid, contests and scholarships awards can become a good intermediary source between banks and personal savings. Such business contests are very rare as I personally only heard of the Nestle Business Contest so far and there are no scholarships reserved to entrepreneurial funding. Companies and private investors could thus start several Business Contests that fund the winning project or offer a specific amount of money to meriting projects. Essay contests such as this one are also a great financial source for businesses with low initial costs, such as service and Internet-based firms, because they can be funded by a few private parties and easily won by participants. - Educational reforms: These reforms must be accomplished on four separated dimensions of the Educational System in order to palliate to distinctive problems. First of all, public universities course sequence must be changed to offer at least one comprehensive and concrete entrepreneurship course with a final project of a small business creation. It is best given with junior status as a prerequisite to ensure that students possess all the financial and managerial skills to do well in their projects. However, because of the very low rate of students that enroll in University in Morocco, it might be necessary to include this course in the High school curriculum as well to give a chance to students who do not intend to pursue a degree to be able to manage their own business. Likewise, the efforts already conducted by the government to increase the literacy rate in the country should be increased and should focus on girls education to fill the gaps in literacy. It is

8 Mouline 8 important that women become a part of the public life and acquire the possibility to choose their professional lives. Along with the first reform, public schools should receive funds to build a computer lab as it is sometimes done with foreign aid or at least to provide computer science classes to their students so that they can later develop skills of their own if they show interest. In schools teaching computer science, students could be encouraged to build freelancers forums to bring together their expertise and make themselves known to potential customers. Finally, public awareness toward entrepreneurship must be increased. Children in school should be taught that entrepreneurship does not only represent risks but rather an opportunity to make a difference and build a firm that can grow over the years and that will provide its owner with superior social prestige. In Universities and high schools, successful Moroccan entrepreneurs should be invited to present their own experience, give advice, and urge youth to follow in their steps and seize the opportunities that remain unexploited. Young people must be told that entrepreneurship and personal success is possible despite opposing and dire circumstances, but that it is linked to hard work and persistence and other moral values that they must develop and transmit to their society. - Creating investors associations: All interested private investors must be brought together to create into a small organization that can be reached by all the means available today (telephone, fax, website). Once created, the association should advertize themselves in newspapers and create a complete website with details on their activity and purpose so that future entrepreneurs. This initiative can be proposed by the government as a publicly-held association or by an influent investor who will gather other parties interested in such an organization in order to keep it private.

9 Mouline 9 Conclusion Our university held last week a conference on Entrepreneurship in Morocco and invited as its guest speaker a young Moroccan entrepreneur who came back to Morocco after earning his Master s degree in Business in order to promote entrepreneurial activity. With his talk on the feasibility of Entrepreneurship, he tried to make students understand that it is an activity that can change Morocco and that is necessary for the country to develop by itself on the long-term, thus echoing my thoughts in this paper and proving to society that not all young people are lethargic and unrealistic about the future. I personally believe that a further expansion of entrepreneurship is possible in Morocco despite the numerous problems that seem to stop it from a sustainable growth and that it actually represents an alternate yet efficient method to attain economical efficiency.