Hebdo Finance News: What role does economic intelligence, and in particular territorial economic intelligence, play?
Taoufiq Boudchiche: Business intelligence is a concept that embraces multiple realities and can also present itself as multifaceted, multiobjective… The most important term in the concept is the word “intelligence”. It refers to a historical dimension concerning the origins of the concept imported from the Anglo-Saxon world “Intelligence”, in the sense of information, intelligence… for decision support purposes. It can therefore be applied to different areas. Economists have taken advantage of this concept to make it a very useful working tool for strategic decisions at the microeconomic level (business management, management, market studies, competitive analyses, etc.) and at the macroeconomic level (study of the economic environment). national and international, strengths and weaknesses of the national economy, etc.). Its use has spread in the context of globalization, in particular in the context of the development of competitiveness strategies on a national, regional and local scale (competitiveness hubs, clusters, industrial districts, etc.). The concept has had some success in Morocco because several organizations (public and private institutions, civil society from the business world, expert associations, etc.) have adopted it since the 1990s, particularly in the field of territorial development.
New territorial approaches inspired by economic intelligence have introduced a sort of revolution in the conception of territory. This is no longer reduced to its geographical dimension, but thanks to the dynamics and interactions between territorial actors, territorial economic intelligence encourages us to understand the territory as a true actor of its own development and not just as a passive receptacle of projects. Economic intelligence helps to highlight these territorial dynamics, to place them in their context, to formalize them (holistic models) and to develop, on this basis, highly operational strategies for territorial development.
FNH: Has economic intelligence contributed to improving Morocco’s competitiveness?
TB: In Morocco, the credit for the diffusion of this concept in the national context goes to economists and senior public decision makers such as the late Meziane Belfquih (advisor to His Majesty the King), Driss Guerraoui, Mohamed Mbarki and Driss Alaoui Mgadhri, who introduced this concept in public action. Initiatives which have, for example, highlighted the importance of territorial economic intelligence for a country like Morocco in its path of structural transformations desired and guided by His Majesty the King since the beginning of the new kingdom. Territorial economic intelligence has been brilliantly applied in large state projects: TangerMed project, Bouregreg project, MarChica project, Med-Est project (creation of industrial zones in the eastern region, etc.), to name just the most emblematic.
The sectoral strategies (Emergence, Maroc Vert, Plan Azur, etc.) were also exercises in territorial intelligence to position Morocco in global value chains as economic opening progressed. It should be noted, for example, that the last royal speech on the occasion of the celebration of the Green March (6 November) is a magnificent example of territorial economic intelligence, encouraging the projection of the development of the southern provinces as a strategic axis of Atlantic Africa integrated into ‘Sahelian Africa and Central Africa. The large Atlantic port of Dakhla, which will be operational in 2030, together with the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project and the fixed link with Spain, will constitute important supporting points to realize the real vision of a fully connected Africa in terms of infrastructure and opening. to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Africa’s potential for opportunity and development will be further multiplied. At an institutional level, it is appropriate to underline the cutting-edge role in Morocco of the Royal Institute of Strategic Studies (IRES) in the field of economic intelligence which, since its creation by Dahir Royal in 2007, has developed analyzes of the highest quality and intelligence strategic. Numerous institutions in Africa and the Arab world (Sahelian Africa, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc.) draw inspiration from the work of the IRES as part of its cooperation with official bodies established in the countries concerned.
FNH: How can business intelligence help strengthen Africa’s economic resilience in the face of global challenges, such as health crises, international market fluctuations and climate change?
TB: In Africa south of the Sahara, initiatives in terms of economic intelligence are carried out mainly by civil society (researchers, universities, associations, expert networks, etc.). For example, the Francophone Association of Economic Intelligence has played a pioneering role in the diffusion of this concept at the African level, both in the Francophone and Anglophone areas. Experts such as Philippe Clerc (France), Amath Soumaré (Senegal) Driss Guerraoui (Morocco), Mounir Rochdi and Siham Haroussi (French-Moroccans working in Paris) who direct this association, have made a great contribution to its realization, especially in the framework of the Dakhla University Open Project. In official circles, its distribution is more restricted because it remains the prerogative of experts skilled in some economic intelligence tools (strategic monitoring, prospective analyses, decision modeling, etc.). But the lines are moving quickly. In the continent’s business circles and among public authorities there is an awareness that decisions and public policies are increasingly less subject to controllable variables in the multi-crisis context that dominates. The decision maker is faced with volatile, complex and ambiguous national and international contexts (a world known as VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguity).
The need is therefore strongly felt to base the decision on tools that allow us to interact with realities that are difficult to predict and elusive by anticipating situations as best as possible (monitoring and anticipation tools), planning action scenarios (perspectives) and remaining relatively ready in emergency situations. crisis (crisis prevention and management). However, the threats that you mentioned in your question, such as the health crisis, the fluctuations of international markets, climate change, to which we must add, for example, natural disasters (the earthquake that we tragically experienced last 8 September in Al Haouz region), represent very significant realities. There is a strong risk that they will get worse in the coming years. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning the worsening of global instability due to the return of wars and high intensity conflicts in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, as well as the growing rivalries between great powers: United States – Europe – China. Consequently, Africa urgently needs to equip itself with adequate skills and conceptual tools to build public policies aimed at addressing it in the best possible way. Economic intelligence is one such tool, for example using diagrams, to identify key trends, drivers of change, disruptive signals, etc. which could impact our present and future realities.
Artificial intelligence allows Africa to make technological breakthroughs without following the same development paths as countries, which are expensive in terms of investment and energy. We have the already well-known example of mobile telephony and the Internet which have allowed access to telecommunications without developing heavy infrastructures linked to fixed telephony. Let us also consider the successful experience of the implementation of the “Smart City” as another example. The transition towards the “Smart city” allows African cities a real revolution in the public services provided to citizens in terms of quality, speed and good ecological governance. In Morocco we have the example of Berkane which in a few years has acquired the status of “Smart-city”, recognized internationally thanks to the notable work carried out by the current team of the province.
FNH: Can you explain how technological advances, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, have influenced the practice of business intelligence?
TB: Artificial intelligence is about to revolutionize our working methods, just as the revolution of microcomputers, the Internet, mobile telephony… According to Bill Gates, attentive to technological developments, in a few years we could have artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence), a sort of super-intelligent assistants at an individual and/or community level. They will be equipped with exponential intelligence capability in speed of data collection, data analysis and exploitation of data according to the needs assigned to them in human activities. This is already the case with advanced language processing tools, such as ChatGPT. In the field of economic intelligence, this can only be useful to resolve the issue of the mass of data to be decrypted (Big data, Deep mining, etc.) and reformatted according to human needs. This is due to growing computing power and impactful algorithms that evolve very rapidly (analysis of complex situations, programming according to desirable objectives, scenario development, super modeling to aid decision making, information return…). And the areas of application are as many as there are topics to be covered.
FNH: What would be the advantages for economic operators in Africa?
TB: New data collection and analysis capabilities will make it possible to invest in new fields of knowledge, for example those related to adaptation to climate change, anticipation of natural disasters, sustainable agriculture, demography, urban planning, technological development , to research and development, to the training of human resources, the fight against economic, social, territorial inequalities and disparities… These are all essential issues that we do not yet measure as extremely important for progress and, if necessary, for our survival on this planet. Aren’t we talking about our entry into the Anthropocene era? A new geological era in which human action threatens the balance of our relationship with the planet. There are certainly CO2 emissions that accelerate global warming, but there are other phenomena, such as erosion caused by human activities on the coasts. It is 10 times faster in time than that caused by natural elements measured in decades, centuries and millennia. In terms of benefits for economic actors in Africa, we can mention, among others, the wide accessibility to information at lower costs, the development of knowledge in areas of African interest, the development of African human resources and skills whose potential it is very high. underexploited. New technologies associated with artificial intelligence will enable African skills to be better employed in Africa and around the world through accumulated knowledge and in African areas of expertise.
FNH: Dakhla hosted the 4th meeting of the Forum of African Economic Intelligence Associations on the topic “New Territories of Economic Intelligence in Africa and the World”. How important are these types of debates?
TB: I was invited to take part in the 4th meeting of the Dakhla Forum, as it is now customary to mention this event because it is anchored in the reality of the world of African economic intelligence. This forum was established in 2010 as part of the Dakhla Open University, chaired by Driss Guerraoui within the Dakhla ENCG. This city has become, thanks to this initiative, the annual destination for economic intelligence, or even just “intelligence”. It is recalled that the Dakhla Forum brought together during the previous edition, in 2022, a global coalition of scientists, former heads of state and experts on the topic “the role of knowledge, science and education in building a new world . Among the invited scientists, eight are Nobel Prize winners. Consequently, the Dakhla Forum is renewed every year with speakers and themes entirely dedicated to our continent. This year’s 2023 edition was dedicated to exploring new fields of economic intelligence. Numerous francophone and anglophone African experts (Niger, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, etc.) were present to describe the situation of economic intelligence expertise in their countries and/or on the African continent. Workshops were organized in the presence of young students.
Experts from the United States also participated in the meeting. They have developed a very interesting point of view on EI, which has become a particularly sought-after area of expertise in companies in this country. Among other lessons there was, for example, the signal that economic intelligence is starting to move from a simple discipline to a true science equipped with doctrines, postulates and schools of thought. In fact, economic intelligence is already contributing to enriching the theories of economic thought, sociology, anthropology, legal sciences, diplomatic doctrines, etc. Another important lesson has emerged, demonstrating that economic intelligence is evolving towards more methodologically ambitious approaches to encompass all intersecting and interacting human, technological, social and planetary issues. We are increasingly moving towards so-called strategic meta-intelligence approaches. On this topic we recommend consulting the works of the IRES (www.ires.ma). To conclude I add that territorial economic intelligence introduces meaning into territories. It constitutes a conceptual basis for visionary approaches to the territory and is essentially based on local realities. It allows them to be sublimated to make them a resource for development, cohesion and social adhesion. Furthermore, it is fertilized through a necessary coming and going between the field, theoretical and academic reflection and operational action.
2023-12-30 19:01:11
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