Origine Nador

This project aims to create an incubator for innovative business projects for women in the artisanal sector, along with the development of a brand of local products geared towards international tourism. This incubator seeks to empower women in the region by promoting entrepreneurship, diversifying artisanal production in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, and accelerating innovation in the sector, all under the brand “Origine Nador.”

The project is being carried out with our Moroccan subsidiary, “Association Femmes pour l’Afrique,” based in Nador. Its headquarters, Phare Nador, is a training center with 23 classrooms, dedicated to training women and promoting research and knowledge exchange. Since 2017, it has played a crucial role in the professional development of women in the Oriental region.

Context:

Nador, located in the Oriental region of Morocco, is experiencing rapid growth in tourism, framed within national urban, commercial, and tourism development plans. The city aspires to become the commercial capital of the region, benefiting from the large flow of tourists passing through Melilla/Beni Enzar during the summer, with nearly 3 million people and vehicles in transit.

Craftmaship is a key sector in Nador’s economy, formally employing 40% of the active population, with a considerable informal sector still unregistered. The COVID-19 crisis, which affected women working at the Melilla border, has increased the importance of the artisanal sector for income generation.

This highly feminized sector offers great opportunities for entrepreneurship and social inclusion. However, for Nador’s local artisanal sector to reach its full potential in national and international markets, it needs to be revalued and modernized.

Specific Objectives:

1. Create a sustainable incubator for female-led businesses, which will be transformed into a consultancy at the end of the project. A group of 10 young women will be trained as expert consultants to advise Nador’s artisans, encouraging entrepreneurship and helping them improve the competitiveness of their businesses.

2. Modernize artisanal production by training 50 artisans to adapt their techniques and local products to international standards. The project seeks to improve the quality and design of products by integrating new technologies and entrepreneurial innovation approaches.

3. Promote the social and professional inclusion of women in vulnerable situations through support, training, and monitoring of their income-generating activities, with the intervention of the incubator.

4. Bring between 15 and 20 artisanal projects to the tourism market, leveraging the “Origine Nador” brand. Specific training will be provided to optimize marketing and ensure thorough monitoring at each phase of project development.

5. Implement a pilot e-commerce initiative by supporting the creation of a web platform to market the products of three selected projects. The entrepreneurs will receive training in e-commerce, including digital marketing strategies.

Partners and Collaborators:

The project is supported by various local and national institutions, such as the Nador Chamber of Artisanry, the Tourism Delegation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the CNSS, among other public and private organizations.

This collaborative approach ensures strong institutional support and contributes to the success of this economic empowerment project for women in the region.