IBM Helps Women's Cooperatives in Tangier Become More Profitable

CASABLANCA, Morocco, June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of IBM (NYSE: IBM) specialists completing a month-long pro bono consulting assignment, today presented business management strategies to Tangier-area non governmental organizations that promote economic development, cultural preservation and sustainable development. 

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The 9-person IBM team, from 8 countries, was the fourth group since 2010 to provide assistance to Morocco as part of IBM's Corporate Service Corps, which provides problem-solving support to educational institutions, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies in the developing world and emerging markets.

Tangier is Morocco's second most important industrial center after Casablanca, with diversified industrial sectors and hosts Morocco's biggest and most modern harbor, Tanger-Med. Tangier also has free trade zones and industrial areas that boost the region's industrial development.

The IBM team worked with Tanger Med Foundation for Human Development (Fondation), which runs women's cooperatives as part of its mission to promote development through education, vocational training and healthcare initiatives. IBM provided guidance for a Fondation women's center to become more productive, self-sufficient and profitable by creating a clear business plan.

The IBM team assisted the center's women to effectively address issues of pricing, negotiation, managing quality, packaging, maintenance and inventory, and use economies of scale, finance, partnerships and bookkeeping.

"The IBM team did a great job providing us with an adaptable business plan for more productive and self-sustainable cooperatives. We wish to replicate this successful experience they had with the women's community center in El Haouma to many other cooperatives," said Jamal Mikou, President of Tanger Med Foundation for Human Development.

The IBM consultants also worked with the Tanger Al Madina Foundation (FTAM), a foundation dedicated to preserving and raising awareness of Tangier's old Medina, its historical nucleus of culture and history.

IBM helped FTAM with a clear strategy for a sustainable growth and clear benefits for the community of the old Medina in Tangier. The team recommended the use of modern technologies to make collaboration and stakeholder engagement easier and more effective, as well as the adoption of an online fundraising model based on a new website.

Another team worked with the Moroccan Association for Sustainable Environment (AMED), a university-based group active in sustainable development. The team helped AMED create a new organizational model, with clear strategic plan as well as communication plans. The suggested framework will allow the association to optimize its internal procedures, promote its image externally, and access more funding.

"This experience was truly collaborative. The team learned a great deal about the important role that local non-profits play in this unique community. The success of these non-profit groups will ultimately help the region continue to grow and succeed in the global marketplace," said Abdallah Rachidi Alaoui, CGM IBM Morocco.

IBM's Corporate Service Corps deploys IBM employees from around the world with expertise in technology, scientific research, marketing, finance, human resources, law, and economic development.  Issues they address range from economic development, energy and transportation, to education and health care.  

By year's end, approximately 2,400 IBM employees based in 52 countries will have been dispatched on more than 187 Corporate Service Corps engagements, and undertaken 850 team assignments in 34 countries since the founding of the program five years ago, in 2008.  Since that time, Corporate Service Corps has provided more than $70 million worth of skilled, pro bono consulting services.  Over the last five years, the program has sent more than 638 employees on 56 teams to 11 countries in Africa, a growing market for IBM.

Follow IBM's Corporate Service Corps on the CitizenIBM blog at www.citizenIBM.com and on Twitter at @citizenIBM

Contact(s) information

Ari Fishkind
IBM Media Relations
1 (914) 499-6420
[email protected]

Nadia Kallel
IBM Media Relations
+21698485358
[email protected]

SOURCE IBM