Media
Gallery
Trade Mission to Morocco between Sandyford Business District and Casablanca Finance City
Landmark Trade Mission to Morocco between Business Hubs Sandyford Business District and Casablanca Finance City
The resulting bi-lateral economic partnership promises benefits for both leading business districts for decades to come
Earlier this month, a delegation of representatives from Sandyford Business District, along with Irish business leaders and officials from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council embarked on an historic trade mission to Casablanca Finance City (CFC) in Morocco. The mission laid the foundation for a promising bi-lateral economic partnership between the two leading business districts.
The mission aimed to explore the mutual benefits in strengthening bi-lateral collaboration, promoting international visibility of the business districts to talent and investors, and sharing learnings and best practices between districts for the benefit of their respective businesses, universities, investors and communities.
From the meeting, the CEOs of SBD and CFC recognised their strong alignment between the visions and objectives for the futures of the business districts. The mission culminated in a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by CEOs Ger Corbett of SBD, and Said Ibrahimi of CFC, officially launching the economic partnership between the two rapidly expanding business hubs.
The Irish delegation consisted of
o An Cathaoirleach Jim O’Leary, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC)
o Frank Curran, CEO, DLRCC
o John O’Toole, Head of Economic Development, DLRCC
o Ger Corbett, CEO, SBD
o Leo McBride, Founder, DCaaS Global
o Gavin Duffy, Director, RealSim
o JJ O’Hara, CEO, Future Cast
Mr Corbett pointed to the Fintech sector as an ever-growing sector which is leading in attracting investment, highlighting the recent acquisition of Irish fintech company CR2 by Moroccan group HPS. In addition, smart cities and the use of technology in urban modernisation represent promising areas for collaboration between Morocco and Ireland, alongside AgriTech, industry, construction and tourism.
Mr Corbett also highlighted the significance of CFC’s strategic positioning as a business hub, with a strong pool of qualified talent, a bilingual French and English speaking workforce, high levels of mathematics knowledge amongst the workforce, and privileged access to both African and European markets as strong assets that will underpin the bi-lateral economic partnership.
Mr Corbett stated: “Much like Sandyford Business District, Casablanca Finance City has a clear vision for ambitious economic development and growth over the coming decades. Morocco invests strongly in infrastructure, innovation and education, and I have no doubt that it will continue to build on the momentum of those investments to establish itself as a key trading player in the global economy.
Although Sandyford Business District and Casablanca Financial City are at different stages of development, our shared visions and values will enable us to learn core lessons from one another on how to ensure our business districts continue to attract investment, and to learn and build upon one another’s successes on infrastructural development. The Memorandum of Understanding signed last week lays the foundation for the strengthening of trade ties and lucrative academic and professional partnerships that will develop from future cooperation between our districts.”
About Casablanca Finance City
Casablanca Finance City (CFC) is a leading African financial center, which has supported its members to facilitate operations across 80 countries in Africa and beyond since its establishment in 2010. Today, CFC hosts 225 companies operating across 115 countries, including 50 headquartered in Africa.
Uniquely positioned to bridge business opportunities between Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean, CFC has cultivated a stable environment, localised expertise, and a robust support network to attract international investors and unlock Africa’s economic and business potential.