Post 3: Getting to work

Now, the real work has begun - our mission is to help a Moroccan organization that represents the interests of Moroccan business, especially small and medium business. More specifically, we're working in a consultative fashion with them to identify how they can make the most of limited resources (time, money and people) to extend their services and ultimately grow Moroccan business.

​

To provide context, Morocco's GDP is approximately $136B in 2017 (estimated) and is the 2nd largest non-oil GDP behind Egypt. Morocco's has the 57th highest GDP in the world. Morocco is now addressing persistent social problems by seeking to reduce absolute poverty rates, investing in human capital through quality education, expanding access to drinking water, and linking rural areas to markets through investment in roads.  Small and medium enterprises are core to the engine of the Moroccan economy – diversifying the economy and providing help and guidance to these small businesses is crucial to the continued growth of the economy.

​

Our mission within IBM Corporate Service Corp is to help bring more services to these aspiring businesses and represent their interests. We’ve conducted 16 in-depth interviews accounting over nearly 25 hours in the first week. Data gathering is essential for us to help provide a solid business plan for our host organization.

​

 A key part of building our relationships has been food and drink – our regular work day is 8:30 to 6:30. Our host organization takes 1.5 to 2 hours for lunch and this time is spent networking, reflecting and building bonds. As someone who rarely eats away from my desk and every day is a working lunch, this has been something very odd for me to get accustomed to. It has provided great opportunities to learn about Moroccan cuisine as well as gather a better understanding of our host organization, its history and its issues and their root causes.

​

Likewise, while the IBM team of 15 is divided into five teams of three, our missions are similar enough that our shared learning of Morocco, its culture and the culture of our host organizations are discussed at length over group dinners. I wondered if we would split into separate teams that would never see each other, but that’s not happening. Quite to the contrary, we are getting closer, learning more about each other and working as a team to hopefully make a difference in Morocco. 

​

I can’t post this without wishing my kids a Happy Birthday, Beckett and Kendall turned 6 on April 12 and while it kills me to not be there, technology does make it easier to communicate and see each other on this day. We had their birthday party prior to me leaving which really helped. Happy birthday kiddo’s, I miss you guys!!

​

I’ve attached quite a few pictures below. I had some technical difficulties with the mobile portion of the blog, but they have been resolved, so hopefully everything will be smooth sailing from here on.

​

You can subscribe to the blog and I will let you know when a new post is added. We’re looking forward as the IBM team to the weekend – more to come. Please feel free to comment below.