On a misty Tuesday morning, excitement filled the air as three white minibuses curbside at Casablanca’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. Despite the gray clouds which loomed overhead, 22 sleep-deprived graduate students of Cohort 3 gathered into small groups according to our policy memo topics and boarded one of the three vehicles along with a driver and an interpreter. We each had different meetings with subject matter experts in the capital city of Rabat.
Two of us were extremely early for our appointment, so we sought out what we needed most…a strong cup of coffee. Our destination was Starcups, in the Hay Ryad section of Rabat. Although the locals clearly wondered what brought us to the neighborhood, our conversations in Arabic with the barista and a friendly “Bonjour!” to the others allayed any suspicions.
By mid-morning we were ready to meet Brahim Benzakour, a gentleman we had met only days earlier at Dulles Airport after striking up a conversation while waiting for our flight. Brahim introduced us to Lamyae, his wife. The delightful couple are the owners of First PolyChem, a small business enterprise in the plastics and polymer industry.
The company has two offices: one in Rabat and the other in Houston, Texas. The purpose for our meeting with First PolyChem was to discuss female entrepreneurship and microlending as well as the structural barriers for small to medium business enterprises. The Benzakours graciously hosted us at the Zayyane Restaurant and answered many of our questions ranging from entrepreneurship to education reform and women’s economic empowerment. Our “90-minute” meeting lasted for FOUR HOURS!
One thing is for certain—the “sweet dream team” of First PolyChem made the early trip to Rabat worthwhile. We hope to return the favor by coming up with smart policy recommendations to improve the Moroccan landscape for small, medium, and women-owned businesses.