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Moroccan businessman Mohammed El Idrissi El Bouzaidi was born in Taounate in 1961. After finishing school he left the small city for the capital, where he enrolled in the National School of Public Administration and eventually worked for the Interior Ministry.
But his ambitions did not stop there: he decided to leave his job and travel to France, where he pursued his studies. He then went on to complete a PhD in public finance with a thesis about taxation in the Arab Maghreb Union countries.
His time in France would however end upon completion of his doctoral studies. In 1988, El Bouzaidi moved to the United States, to the Big Apple. A few months after moving to New York, he bought a limousine and started working as a driver in Wall Street.
«I registered at the university for a master's degree in finance as well. I worked at night and studied during the day. After the birth of my first son, I gave up my job as a driver, and I went to work in a bank in 1996, and after that I became a partner in the bank, I owned 50% of the shares», he told Yabiladi.
His work at the bank continued until 2008, when the global financial crisis hit the US and the world's economies, which he described as a «tsunami that swept away everything in its path». The bank where he officiated was unable to recover from the crisis.
Starting a business
Subsequently, Mohammed El Idrissi El Bouzaidi decided to change careers and switch to «satellite Internet». He established his first specialized company in 2008, and two years later, Hurricane Sandy struck New York City and damaged infrastructure in the city. The city decided to rely on the Internet via satellite and Bouzidi’s company was chosen to supervise the project.
Following that project, the Moroccan businessman went on to the field of renewable energies, and in 2014, he established the «Patriot Energy Solutions» company, which specialized in those forms of energies.
The company eventually landed a contract with the New York authorities to implement an energy efficiency program, conducting energy studies for homes and making proposals, as state authorities aspire to increase reliance on renewables in households.
As his business in the United States was becoming successful, Bouzidi opted to open a branch of his company in Casablanca, and hired Moroccan engineers to work with the parent company in New York. «The Casablanca branch takes care of everything that is related to engineering. I chose my country, Morocco, instead of India or Bangladesh», he explained.
«I owe a lot to Morocco. I studied there for free, and I was even landed a scholarship. Morocco paid me money to become a producer, and when I reached the stage of production, I left the country. The country that benefited from me is not the country that made me who I am, so I owe it to my country».
According to him, fellow Moroccan businessmen are also trying to transfer their expertise to the Kingdom. «We are optimistic about the future of renewable energies in Morocco and we want to form an addition and transfer our expertise», he explained.
«My goal is for Morocco to become a hub towardsthe African market, because it is currently heading towards Africa, and in line with this vision there are African engineers working at the Casablanca branch to return to their countries to work».
Before the sanitary crisis, the foreign-based businessman used to visit Morocco on a monthly basis, although he would not be currently planning to settle back in Morocco, indicating that he is thinking about developing his business further in the United States.
In 2000, he had decided to open a hotel and restaurant in town of origin but the consequences of the pandemic forced him to close it. El Bouzaidi is currently considering building a 3-star hotel with a capacity of 50 beds, as he believes that the region is beautiful, although he deplores the lack of tourist infrastructure.
