While many businesses focus on making profit, some put their people first. Even though our group only spent a short time learning about The Anou Cooperative, it is clear they are a people-first business. Because many rural women in Morocco do not have direct market access or necessary business skills, they rely on middle men to sell their products and take care of operations. The issue with this, however, is that these women only receive a small portion of the added-value, either 4% with middle men or 20% with the fair trade model that uses an organization to sell their products. In order to truly support these women and their hard work, The Anou Cooperative adopted the artisan owned model, which gives 80% of profits to the artisan and 20% to the organization. In addition, the organization develops accessible digital business platforms that combat illiteracy and trains the women to manage their business. After the session, the guest speaker told me that when he worked at the cooperative, the artisans were his boss; they led and he helped them solve issues with hopes they could do it themselves in the future. To me, their entire business model embodies promoting the dignity of these women artisans, their people. In addition to their business model, The Anou Cooperative’s supply chain involves giving customers the opportunity to learn about the products, the process, and the people, rather than simply buying the product. This is unique because people oftentimes purchase products without really knowing where they come from. They are also trying to encourage use of more Moroccan wool, as opposed to wool from other countries, by constructing a mill, and they focus on providing their artisans with more sustainable dyed wool.

When supporting small businesses, I think about where my products came from and who made them. I want to support hard work and quality products or services, so I like to connect with the small business owner and hear their story. When purchasing everyday products, such as food and clothing, however, I usually do not think about the source of my products. When a product is not essential, I am more likely to consider the source to justify the purchase, whereas for food and clothing I am normally just looking for good prices.

One piece of information that stood out to me from our entrepreneurial ecosystem lecture is that Morocco’s market has 40 million people, which is relatively small compared to other places. Further, some startups are adapted for Morocco specifically and are therefore unable to expand into the international ecosystem. This information made me curious to ask Casablanca Technopark, one of our site visits, if they are encouraging startups to scale internationally, as well as ask UM6P about their programs supporting global startups. In addition, UM6P, a university that serves both the country and corporates, was started by OCP Group which belongs to the government. My group specifically is focused on UM6P, so this made me think the university may face challenges related to the interconnectedness of these ecosystem elements. Learning about this encouraged me to ask about the relationship between OCP Group and UM6P’s financials during our site visit, as well as consider other opportunities for funding in our final project.