The Faces of North Africa’s Capitalism

From Old School Entrepreneurs to Technical Experts Leading Maghreb Economies into the 21st Century

For decades, North African nations flirted with socialistic ideas that often clashed with the entrepreneurial spirit. The limitations of the 1950s through the 1980s can easily be explained. Vast numbers of North Africans entered the post colonial era without knowing how to read or write. Illiteracy and a poor education system meant that social programs had to be put in place by highly centralized regimes. Over the past two decades, however, the collapse of the Soviet Union has accelerated the shift to open market economies. And yet still despite the heavily regulated economies, the private sector in the region has seen its role expand as entrepreneurial companies have been taking advantage of business opportunities, while also leveraging the existence of a class of experts to help build their business empires.  Continue reading here or Subscribe here.