(Ecofin Agency) – While the business world is in turmoil, Moroccan bosses plan to invest in transformation programs that notably affect human resources, operational efficiency, technological deployment and energy transition.
44% of Moroccan managers believe that their company will not be viable in ten years if it does not carry out transformation, in particular by making investments in human capital, operational efficiency and technological deployment, according to a report published on April 3 by the audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
This report is the Morocco edition of the “Global CEO Survey 2023”, which was conducted among 4,410 business leaders in 105 countries and territories.
The survey concerns Morocco for the first time, where 45 business leaders were interviewed.
The rate of Moroccan managers who think that preserving the viability of their business over the next ten years will require an in-depth transformation of the current operating model is higher than the world average (39%) and the European average (33%). %).
To ensure the viability of their business, Moroccan leaders say they must invest in transformation programs that concern human resources, operational efficiency, technological deployment and energy transition.
In this context, 72% of them place the improvement of the skills of their employees (upskilling) at the top of their priority investments, ahead of the automation of processes and systems (67%), the deployment of new technologies such as the Cloud, artificial intelligence and the metaverse (53%).
Other investments likely to drive business transformation include adopting alternative energy sources (49%), adjusting the supply chain (44%) and decarbonizing the business model (29%). %).
Inflation and macroeconomic volatility, main threats
The report also reveals that Moroccan leaders are not optimistic about the outlook for the global economy and Morocco’s economic prospects over a 12-month horizon. 80% of them believe that global economic growth will slow down while 71% expect a slowdown in the growth of the Moroccan economy.
This ambient pessimism does not translate when it comes to the growth prospects of their own company. 73% of respondents are moderately, extremely or very confident in the expected growth of their company’s turnover over the next twelve months. This proportion even rises to 93% over a three-year horizon.
However, in Morocco, business leaders must deal with many threats that could negatively impact their growth prospects.
The threats cited in the short term (the next 12 months) are, in order, inflation (62%), macroeconomic volatility (49%), geopolitical conflicts (31%), climate change (24%), health risks (24%), cybersecurity risks (13%) and social inequalities (13%).
In the longer term (the next five years), around half of respondents believe that their company will still be heavily exposed to inflation. Climate change, however, ranks third over a five-year horizon. It is cited as a strong threat by 40% of Moroccan business leaders over the next five years.
To counter the effects of the delicate economic situation, leaders are adopting short-term resilience strategies. 60% of them have already applied a policy of seeking out other suppliers. Next come the strategies of reducing operating costs (56%), diversifying the product/service offer (49%), increasing the prices of the products or services offered (47%) and reassessing ongoing projects (44%). 20% of leaders have also made cuts in the workforce, and only 2% have reduced the remuneration of their employees.