What moves around in Marrakech? The bicycle as a means to generate opportunities and create a more sustainable urban environment imroving the informal delivery network within the old medina imroving the informal delivery

Abstract

This report is the final work of an in-company project carried out in a Moroccan association centered around the bicycle. The association was looking to set up a new business line of bike delivery next to its existing activities in Marrakech. The business challenge to tackle was to find a gap in the logistics market where potential clients would benefit from this bike delivery service, how the association could best fill this gap and how implementation should look like. All of this whilst keeping in mind the main pillars the association has been built on: employment creation and the creation of a more sustainable urban environment. After an in-depth market research on everything that moves around in Marrakech, many possibilities for bicycle delivery were observed. Turning them into business opportunities, they were then held against several factors to assess their feasibility. This analysis showed one option was the most adequate one to move forward with. It was also the most challenging one, as the target client and the stakeholders involved had each a different interest and were rather powerful market players in place for already a long time. However, the association’s strong CSR potential and the efficiency increase in the proposed solution have been convincing. Discussions with this partner resulted in a proposal meeting and even a request for an offer. A sound business plan has therefore been elaborated with a well-thought offer in order to make this collaboration fruitful for both the association as the partner in the future.