The crisis in positive mode

Covid-19: the positive aspects of the crisis

In a context that remains disrupted, the Chamber, listening to its community, gathered the perceptions of some players who, despite the difficulties, share their positive thoughts here. Testimonials.

Axel d’Authuille, Managing Director of Syngenta Maroc

“It is not easy to really find one, but if I have to pick out something positive, it is adaptability. We are indeed able to continue our business while being less physically present, which will ultimately increase home office working and therefore improve our teams’ quality of life, while at the same time reducing our premises costs, as we do not necessarily need such large spaces. The same goes for business travel, which will certainly decrease, especially within the Group. These are indeed positive points in the short term in terms of cost… ”

Abdellilah Mourid, Managing Director of Sicpa Maroc

“I was particularly struck by the drive and willingness of companies to help the country do what was needed to tackle the pandemic: I am talking here about medical ventilators, masks, etc. This shows us that, economically, we can surpass ourselves when there is a catalyst. The other positive point I observe is that Morocco has fully grasped what is at stake with digital. At Sicpa, this allows us to be optimistic, as we offer solutions to secure digital. We have in fact adapted one of our products to produce health passports, which are of interest to states but also to organisations such as sports federations, and which guarantee the authentication of certifications.”

Abla Benslimane, Corporate Affairs Director, Philip Morris

“This crisis has allowed us to accelerate our digital transformation. For example, on the sales side, we have digitalised order-taking thanks to an app that we have made available to our partners. It allows tobacconists to place orders at any time from their phone and to manage their stock properly, while being assisted and advised remotely by our staff. This digital transformation has also allowed us to foster learning and skills development among our people. In concrete terms, a DigiHUB has been set up to give employees tips to make remote working easier. PMM has also made an online language-learning programme available to its employees and their family members. Finally, as we continue to recruit new employees despite this crisis, an onboarding programme for new recruits has been set up to ensure their better integration remotely.”