Here in Morocco, we’ve already learned a lot about supporting the growth of entrepreneurship, and our site visits today to ANDD and the women center in which they help support expanded upon this theme. ANDD is focused on supporting and expanding women entrepreneurs, specifically targeting unemployed and younger women who may have an idea or passion for some sort of business but lack the skills or set direction to take it further.

ANDD’s workshops for these women are similar to what we’ve seen at other site visits, as multiple places/companies like the Technopark in Casablanca discussed hosting workshops for the entrepreneurs within to gain the skills they’re lacking in, commonly soft skills needed to run a successful enterprise. This is slightly different from ANDD because even though ANDD seems to offer soft skill training like self-confidence and public speaking, they also heavily focus on technological skills like video editing and AI integration to help these women who aren’t very tech savvy to expand their knowledge of online tools at their disposal.

I think another one of the most important things ANDD offers is a community that supports each other and helps each other learn as much as possible, in turn improving everyone’s businesses. The women we spoke to today at the women’s center touched on this as they talked about how instead of competing with one another, they always help each other’s businesses out as much as possible, and by learning through ANDD workshops together, it has obviously brought them closer. Going back to the comparison of the Technopark, I believe this feeling of community is also important for the startups within the Technopark, and the ecosystem it offers was continuously mentioned to be one of, if not the most important thing the Technopark had to offer.

All the women we met this afternoon were very welcoming and happy to talk to us about their businesses and journeys with ANDD, even though many didn’t speak English. Many of their business were pretty similar, but one thing without a doubt that each woman had in common was the fact that working with ANDD improved their technological skills across social media, AI, and video editing, all of which has expanded their online presence and overall success as entrepreneurs. I think this speaks to the importance of technology today, and how with the right help, anyone can be successful if they’re passionate and work hard toward achieving their business goals.

-Austin Gilliland