Throughout history, the African continent has generated significant added value that has fueled economies worldwide. However, Africa has not received proper recognition, and its people have not reaped the benefits of this added value, as evident in official trade figures. It is clear that a change is urgently needed, but how do we go about making it happen?
Hamza Cherif D'Ouezzan Currently, the African continent faces numerous challenges, including the climate crisis, inadequate infrastructure, pervasive corruption, and a significant brain drain caused by mass immigration. However, rather than viewing these challenges solely as obstacles, we must strive to transform them into opportunities. One way to achieve this is by leveraging the democratization of technology and the disruptive power of tools like AI to propel Africa towards a future where it is truly sovereign. We need to gradually divest from systems that extract value from Africa and instead invest in systems that cultivate the Africa we envision.
In short, the key lies in learning from the most marginalized Africans and constructing systems that reflect their experiences and aspirations.
Drawing from my own experience of immigrating to Europe in my early twenties to kickstart my career and later returning to my home country to explore these very questions, I have discovered that the path forward lies in starting from the ground up. Local communities across Africa possess an intimate understanding of the systemic issues they face, and they have been tirelessly organizing and developing local solutions for years. It is imperative that we learn from their experiences and provide them with the necessary tools, resources, and training to scale their solutions. Previous attempts to implement solutions in Africa often failed because they were not genuinely grassroots initiatives led by Africans; they were imported approaches that perpetuated extractive power dynamics and were ill-suited to African needs. It is time for grassroots solutions led by Africans themselves.
To illustrate this approach, we can examine the case of the Anou Cooperative in Morocco. In the Moroccan craft market, artisans, predominantly rural women with limited formal education, earn a meager average of 4% from the sale of their products, while the remaining 96% goes to middlemen, many of whom are foreign-owned businesses. These businesses amass significant wealth and experience exponential growth by selling these products, while African artisans struggle to earn even a minimum wage. Official data demonstrates that this exploitation has slowly eroded the craft industry, which represents the second-largest source of employment in rural areas and a significant competitive advantage for Morocco in the international market. Artisans are abandoning their crafts, high-quality organic materials are being replaced with environmentally harmful alternatives, and precious techniques and heritage are being lost.
The non-African solution to this problem, implemented over the past 50 years, has been fair trade, which typically allocates 20% of the paid price to artisans while 80% is consumed by overhead costs, often of foreign origin. However, this approach has proven ineffective, as evidenced by the precipitous decline in the number of artisans.
The African solution, on the other hand, is embodied by the Anou Cooperative. Ten years ago, rural community organizers from various regions of Morocco, each equipped with extensive experience, united to establish the Anou Cooperative, the country's first artisan-owned and artisan-managed e-commerce platform. By providing artisans with user-friendly technology owned by the artisans themselves, this cooperative finally enabled direct market access and sales to their clients online. This transformative shift in revenue generation has meaningfully empowered Moroccan artisans and paved the way for a craft economy that centers on artisans and sustainability.
The Anou artisans did not stop at achieving market access; they also focused on enhancing product quality to bolster the competitiveness of Moroccan craft, fostering wholesale partnerships that brought economic opportunities back to the country, and developing services to maximize market revenue. Their current endeavor is the construction of Africa's most ambitious craft supply chain--the Atlas Wool Supply Co., Africa's first carbon-negative wool mill. Beyond providing an alternative to imported wool from New Zealand, this wool mill champions climate crisis mitigation solutions by incorporating a solar farm for low-energy costs, incentivizing farmers to adopt greener practices, and ultimately ensuring that the Ait Bougmez Valley, where the mill is situated, will have more water in the future than it does today.
The key factors contributing to the success of the Anou Cooperative are a strong vision that does not shy away from the urgent need for comprehensive systemic reform, grassroots organizing led by community leaders who have tirelessly challenged existing structures and mindsets, and African-owned technology designed specifically to meet the unique needs of Africans, without imposing language barriers or requiring irrelevant business skills.
The journey of realizing the vision of the Anou Cooperative has been, and continues to be, an arduous one. This is because our existing systems are not built to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Export regulations, banking systems, digital integration, and investment opportunities all pose significant challenges when attempting to build an infrastructure that empowers Anou artisans without compromising their vision. To address these challenges, we must critically reevaluate our systems, not merely superficially reform them, but genuinely reconsider them from the ground up. This process requires the courage to question and rectify what does not work.
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We need financial systems that mirror our needs and serve our interests. We require investment opportunities specifically designed for African entrepreneurs, rather than working against them. Customs offices should facilitate smooth trade experiences, and legal frameworks must enable our progress rather than hinder it.
During my attendance at the African Continental Free Trade Area (Afcfta) business forum in Cape Town, South Africa, I sought to purchase a craft souvenir to take home. After thoroughly exploring the offerings, it became evident that the craft market was struggling. Conversations with local craft sellers confirmed this fact and revealed the extinction of handmade textiles in the region. This saddened me but also intensified my commitment to the work I am undertaking alongside the Anou artisans.
To ensure the preservation of African craft and creativity, it is crucial that we collectively devote our efforts to scale these initiatives rapidly. I am excited to collaborate with my African brothers and sisters within the framework of the Afcfta to make this shared vision a reality.
