Every month a company shows me a market study on Morocco. It is well made. It is also the reason they are two years late.
The study that nobody reads
A study tells you the market exists. You knew that. What it cannot tell you is who signs, who delays, and who you should never have met. That knowledge lives in people, and people open doors for people.
In 25 years I have not seen a single first deal come out of a report. I have seen dozens come out of a breakfast.
A partner with a licence
Pick the partner before the office. In Morocco, as in the Gulf, the licence is the market. A partner who already holds one turns eighteen months of paperwork into a signature.
A pilot with a paying customer
Free pilots prove nothing. A customer who pays, even a little, proves the product, the price and the partner at once. Aim small and aim for an invoice.
One partner. One pilot. One seat. Everything else is a slide.
A seat at the table
The last step is the one most companies skip. Put someone who knows both markets on the board, or at least in the room when the board meets. That is where the second deal is decided.
Which of the three do you want to start with?
