Harbus

Issue date: 1/26/09 Section: Features

Morroco-Rabat, Tour Hassan

Five HBS students volunteered for two weeks over winter break to consult for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Morocco. Their project was to advise USAID on what policies the Moroccan government could adopt to encourage private sector development of domestic wind energy in a country that imports 93% of its electricity generation resources.

On our last full-day in Morocco, we boarded an early morning train to Fes to see the famed market of Morocco's oldest imperial city. It was a rare day off for the team after spending the previous two weeks consulting for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Stepping out of the taxi into the market was a shock to the senses: a mixed smell of grilled kefta and raw leather from the tanneries; shops displaying a rainbow of spices; the click-clack of donkey hooves on cobble-stone; the aggressive hustlers trying to earn a few dirhams from tourists. While Fes is a city that one can spend years exploring, we were only able to spend 6 hrs in this chaos before heading back to Rabat. On that return trip, we shared a cabin with 4 Moroccans with whom we communicated by offering figs, dates, and clementines - essential staples of Morocco's culture. And, for our team of 5 HBS students, that day symbolized our last two weeks in Morocco: a short, intense experience working in a culture of warm and inviting people.

When we began the project two weeks earlier, we hadn't anticipated such an experience. Our project team was composed of ECs and RCs: Marwan Chaar (OD), Richard Chung (NI), Jon Doochin (NE), Alla Jezmir (OE), and Marc Oman (OA). On our first day, we met with the project sponsors from USAID who briefed us on the project scope: we were to analyze Morocco's electricity market, evaluate potential investments in wind energy, and advise USAID on what policies the Moroccan government could adopt to encourage private sector investment. After our discussion with the Economic Growth Program Manager, who would be our day-to-day liaison, we left the USAID office to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Thomas Riley (HBS '75), who had graciously invited us to his home. While we drank cups of sweet mint tea, Ambassador Riley shared stories (and pictures) of his time at HBS with President Bush, his experience as an executive in Silicon Valley, and his plans when he leaves his post as ambassador.

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