Dear Arnaud,
Thank you again for our conversation yesterday — it was particularly constructive and inspiring.
It confirmed, with great clarity, the strength of the BDO France – BDO Morocco tandem to co-build an ambitious, coherent and sustainable dynamic in support of BDO’s development in North Africa and Francophone West Africa.
Africa is a continent of opportunity, diversity and rapid transformation. Its richness lies in the plurality of its markets, languages and economic realities. That diversity naturally calls for a proximity-led approach: rooted locally, agile in execution and connected to the strength of the global network.
It is in this spirit that we are convinced the France–Morocco axis can play a structuring role in supporting BDO’s development across Francophone Africa, with a straightforward ambition: combining excellence, proximity and impact.
| Coverage | South Africa and Southern African countries |
|---|---|
| Focus | IFRS expertise, Anglo-Saxon methodologies, leadership |
| Engagement coverage | Audit · Advisory · Tax · Transactions — coordinated multi-country delivery, single point of contact, fast mobilisation |
|---|---|
| Quality | Harmonised frameworks and QA — IS & teams as the quality shield on cross-border work |
With 54 countries, 1.4 billion people and several major linguistic blocs, Africa calls for an organisation that is legible, balanced and suited to its regional realities.
Francophone Africa is a coherent economic, cultural and human space that deserves strong visibility and an organisation commensurate with its potential.
Our conviction is simple: what can be mutualised should be, and what must remain local should be carried locally.
It is this combination of regional coordination, on-the-ground anchoring and network strength that will make the difference.
North Africa and Francophone West Africa together represent 18 markets and nearly 550 million people.
For our clients — whether international, regional or local — the value of the network rests on our ability to offer an integrated, fluid and clear approach, with a coordinated point of contact and consistent delivery.
Audit, Advisory, Tax, Transactions: our ability to grow cross-selling and carry transnational engagements depends on strong, pragmatic coordination close to the field.
Casablanca, by its natural positioning between Europe and Africa, can play this coordination platform role in support of that collective ambition.
Recent market developments in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa open a rare window of opportunity for our network.
The repositioning of certain major international players creates significant strategic space, with immediate needs for continuity, quality and regional coverage for many top-tier clients.
BDO today has a particularly favourable alignment to meet that demand:
By structuring a coordinated approach on Francophone Africa now, we have a concrete opportunity to strengthen our regional positioning durably.
Following our discussions with Sandeep and Derbel (BDO Tunisia) and recent validations obtained at global level, several structuring directions have been adopted:
This organisation seems to us balanced, legible, above all operational and a sound basis to accelerate our BDO Francophone Africa project.
In the same spirit, we also wish to involve Anthony Assassa in this dynamic.
His experience at BDO Global, his grasp of quality issues and his thorough knowledge of network standards will be valuable assets to strengthen the cluster’s structuring.
Anthony can also contribute, alongside us, to accelerating business development in the region, with expertise particularly useful on development and transformation issues.
(At this stage, this point remains confidential and should not yet be shared.)
Finally, to embed this dynamic over the long term and give it a solid base, we are naturally open to exploring modalities for enhanced collaboration, including in an equity form, if that helps secure and perpetuate this synergy over time.
We are convinced that the conditions are now in place to build together a strong, agile Francophone platform that creates value for the entire network.
I remain, of course, at your disposal to continue this reflection and move forward together.
Kind regards,
Zakaria
Quality, an accelerator of business development,
— one distinctive feature: Francophonie, open to all of Africa
Casablanca Finance City positions Morocco as Africa and the Maghreb's leading financial centre. Fortune 500 multinationals, development banks and consulting firms run their African operations from here.
Moroccan groups (Attijariwafa, BCP, OCP, RAM, Maroc Telecom) have built continental empires. With Bank of Africa in 35 countries, Morocco is among Africa's largest outward investors.
Morocco is both the UK's post-Brexit pivot to Africa (Global Britain) AND the African node of China's Belt and Road (BRI). A unique geostrategic position.
Cluster 2 brings together East/Central and North/Francophone West Africa, with three hubs (Nairobi, Mauritius, Casablanca) to structure execution, cross-selling and regional coverage.
| Methodologies | IFRS and Anglo-Saxon best practices |
|---|---|
| Training | Leadership programmes, deep expertise |
| Tools | Analytics, digital solutions |
| Quality | Peer review, standards — IS & teams protecting the brand while growing the business |
| Engagement coverage | Audit · Advisory · Tax · Transactions — coordinated multi-country delivery, single point of contact, fast mobilisation |
|---|---|
| Methodologies | Harmonised East/Central frameworks + Francophone audit/tax standards · shared templates and QA |
| Training | Multilingual EN / Swahili / FR · talent programmes & mobility (Francophonie included) |
| Tools & Quality | Shared platforms, workflow & reporting · IS & teams as the quality shield on cross-border work |
Pooling methodologies · Training · Tools · Quality standards — inter-cluster collaboration
Mazars, RSM and Grant Thornton have chosen Morocco as a regional hub. Deloitte has established its global IT hub there.
| Company | Sector | Target African countries | CFC role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏦 FINANCE & BANKING | |||
| Société Générale | Finance | French-speaking Africa (Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Guinea...) | Africa regional HQ |
| AXA Afrique | Insurance | 30+ African countries | Africa risk management hub |
| Standard Chartered | Finance | Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania...) | Representative office |
| BNP Paribas RIC | Finance | French-speaking Africa + Maghreb | Continental investment |
| Citi | Banking | Pan-African (18 countries) | Africa corporate banking |
| 💳 PAYMENTS & FINTECH | |||
| Mastercard Africa Inc. | Fintech | Pan-African (54 countries) | Africa operations hub |
| Visa International | Fintech | Pan-African | African payments coordination |
| 📱 TELECOMS & TECH | |||
| Orange MEA Management | Telecoms | 18 countries Africa & Middle East | MEA strategic leadership |
| Huawei Technologies | Tech | Pan-African (50+ countries) | Africa R&D & commercial hub |
| Cisco Morocco | Tech | North and sub-Saharan Africa | Digital solutions centre |
| Nokia Solutions & Networks | Tech | French-speaking Africa | Telecoms infrastructure |
| ✈️ INDUSTRY & ENERGY | |||
| GE Aviation Systems | Aviation | North & sub-Saharan Africa | Continental MRO support |
| Schneider Electric CFC | Energy | Pan-African (50+ countries) | Energy project coordination |
| Tetra Pak Maghreb | Agri | Maghreb + French-speaking Africa | Africa distribution hub |
| 💼 CONSULTING & AUDIT | |||
| McKinsey & Company | Consulting | Pan-African | Africa strategy office |
| Boston Consulting Group | Consulting | Pan-African | Continental consulting hub |
| Deloitte Finance Casa | Audit | Pan-African | Africa audit & advisory |
| PwC Advisory | Audit | Pan-African | Assurance & advisory |
| DLA Piper (UK) | Legal | Africa + UK post-Brexit | Corporate law firm |
| Clifford Chance (UK) | Legal | Africa + UK post-Brexit | Corporate law firm |
| 🏨 HOSPITALITY & SERVICES | |||
| Accor Afrique Services | Hospitality | French-speaking Africa (40+ hotels) | Africa regional management |
| Bank of China Morocco | Finance | BRI node → Africa | Belt & Road representation |
| 🏢 Group | 🌍 Sector | 📍 Africa presence | 📊 Key KPI | 🏅 Lead executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏦 FINANCIAL SECTOR | ||||
| Attijariwafa Bank | Universal bank | 14 African countries · 7,400+ branches · 12M clients | Consolidated profit +14.4% in 2025 | Mohamed EL KETTANICEO, Attijariwafa bank🏆 African Banker of the Year 2025 — Forbes Africa |
| (*) Bank of Africa (BMCE) | Pan-African bank | 35 African countries — #1 private pan-African network | #1 private African banking group | Othman BENJELLOUNCEO & Founder, BMCE GroupPatriarch of African banking |
| (*) BCP / Banque Populaire | Mutual bank | 18 African countries · African diaspora | 2nd largest bank in Morocco by total assets | Mohamed KARIM MOUNIRCEO, Groupe Banque Populaire |
| CIH Bank | Mortgage & retail bank | Africa expansion — record results 2025 | +25% profit 2025 | Lotfi SEKKATCEO, CIH Bank |
| ✈️ AVIATION | ||||
| (*) Royal Air Maroc (RAM) | Aviation | 40+ African destinations — Casablanca hub | 9 new routes 2026 (Pointe-Noire, LA, Tripoli…) · 200 aircraft fleet by 2037 | Abdelhamid ADDOUCEO, Royal Air Maroc (since 2016)🏆 Forbes Top 100 Travel Leaders 2025 |
| 🌾 AGRO-INDUSTRY | ||||
| OCP Africa | Phosphates / fertilisers | 18 African countries · 12 subsidiaries · 17 nationalities | Revenue €8.3bn (2023) · 70% global phosphate reserves | Mostafa TERRABChairman & CEO, OCP Group🏆 IFA (Fertilizer Association) President 2025 |
| (*) Cosumar | Sugar | Maghreb + sub-Saharan Africa | #1 sugar producer in North Africa | Rachid BENALICEO, Cosumar |
| 📱 TELECOMS | ||||
| (*) Maroc Telecom / Moov Africa | Telecoms | 9 African countries (CI, Benin, Burkina, Gabon, Mali, Niger, Chad, Togo, Mauritania) | ~50M subscribers in Africa · €4bn group revenue | Mohamed BENCHAABOUNCEO Maroc Telecom (since Mar. 2025)Forbes Middle East Top Leaders 2026 |
| 🏗️ CONSTRUCTION | ||||
| Addoha Afrique | Real estate | Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo | 50,000 homes in Africa | Anas SEFRIOUICEO & Founder, Groupe Addoha |
| (*) LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique | Cement & construction | Morocco + sub-Saharan Africa | #2 cement producer in Africa by capacity | Aïcha MOKDAHICEO, LafargeHolcim Morocco |
| SOMAGEC | Marine construction | Ports W. & C. Africa (Senegal, CI, Mauritania...) | Port & marine infrastructure construction | Roger SAHYOUNCEO, SOMAGEC |
| 🔧 ENGINEERING & SERVICES | ||||
| JESA | Engineering | 18 countries · Mining, industry, urban dev, infrastructure | OCP subsidiary · international EPC standard | Youssef LAHLOUCEO, JESA |
3,800 km HVDC subsea cable carrying Moroccan solar and wind power to the United Kingdom. Shareholders: TAQA (Abu Dhabi), Octopus Energy Group, TotalEnergies.
| Company | Sector | BRI role in Morocco |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei Technologies | Tech | Telecoms & smart cities Africa |
| Bank of China Morocco | Finance | BRI project financing |
| ZTE Corporation | Tech | Africa network infrastructure |
| Haite Group | Industry | Aerospace & manufacturing |
| CITIC Construction | Construction | Africa infrastructure |
Morocco plays on two fronts: BRI partner with China AND post-Brexit hub with the UK. This dual positioning is unique in Africa and strengthens its global geopolitical centrality.
🇲🇦 Morocco (HQ) · 🇸🇳 Senegal · 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire · 🇬🇭 Ghana · 🇳🇬 Nigeria · 🇪🇹 Ethiopia · 🇰🇪 Kenya · 🇹🇿 Tanzania · 🇲🇱 Mali · 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso · 🇳🇪 Niger · 🇹🇬 Togo · 🇧🇯 Benin · 🇷🇼 Rwanda · 🇲🇿 Mozambique · 🇿🇦 South Africa · 🇲🇬 Madagascar · 🇨🇲 Cameroon
| Partner | Agreement | Amount / objective |
|---|---|---|
| AFD | Financing agreement | 350M EUR |
| IFC (World Bank) | Agriculture partnership | Advisory to African farmers |
| Olam Agri | Sustainable agriculture promotion | Custom fertilizers + agronomic trials |
| Fortescue | Green hydrogen & ammonia | Africa energy transition |
| ENGIE | Renewables + desalination | 17 bn EUR investment |
BDO in Morocco
1- full accredited BDO Global
2- ISQM : Type A
Shared quality platform: documented processes, audit files, centralised evidence, risk reporting. AI tools plug into the IS (GDPR compliance, monitoring, assisted controls) to speed up gap detection and standardise outputs.
Clear roles, independent and cross-border peer reviews across the cluster; continuous upskilling; operational proximity to clients and subsidiaries. The IS frees expert time; teams carry judgement and the quality signature.
Clients highlighted in red 🌍 have direct presence on the African continent