Noor Bakary
Maryam El Mokhtari
Al Akhawayn University
Mary Grace Neville
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The innovation is in the way Amaz helps the “Education for All” association. For each pair of sneakers sold, Amaz will finance 1 day of boarding school for a girl. “Education for All” is a non-governmental organization that builds and manages 5 boarding schools in the High-Atlas region, around Marrakesh. Mrs. Bennani wants to help young girls of Morocco. She believes that having access to an education after primary school will allow these young girls from rural areas to have a better future.
Mrs. Fadela Bennani was looking for a way to promote education in Morocco when she heard about the NGO “Education for All”.
To concretize the project, she had multiple meetings with the directors of the NGO and they agreed on a way for Amaz to contribute. They set that for each pair of sneakers sold, Amaz would make a donation of 20 MAD (about 2 US$).
For Mrs. Bennani, the innovation comes from a sense of mission. She wants to help her nation to grow by helping to educate the future generation of women.
The “Amaz for Education” project was inspired by the “Save the Children” and TOMS project that offers one pair of shoes to children in need for every pair sold.
"Coming from a pretty wealthy family in Casablanca, I've grown up with the idea that all children have access to education." Mrs. Fadela wanted to create a brand that had a social impact and wanted to conduct a business that also gives back. Recently she became aware of the problematic situation of education in Morocco. She wanted "to give back to society". Indeed, in rural areas of the country, it is very hard for children to pursue their education, especially for girls. This is due to the far location of schools from the regions. Students have to walk long distances by foot to arrive to the nearest schools. Therefore, they are forced to stop their academic careers at an early stage because of safety reasons. Moreover, the high level of illiteracy in the country which is around 70% according to Mrs. Fadela, was also a big part of the motivation for the “AMAZ for Education” project.
Most importantly, our interviewee wanted to "help the Moroccan society and be able to give back to it".
The “AMAZ for Education” project has not impacted the company in huge ways yet, as it is still in its early stages. The only way the company is impacted for the moment is by the 20 MAD donation for each pair of shoe it agreed to with “Education for All” NGO.
Although this donation of 20 MAD only represents around 5% of the price of a pair, it is the equivalent of one day of boarding school for a girl in one of "Education for All" educational facilities.
When it comes to the society, it has been impacted in a minor way as well for the moment, but still, many rural area girls education has been made easier because of the project. This can improve the situation of many families in those areas, on the long-term. Mrs. Fadela
Some short-term effects of the project are the introduction of good quality, vegan, and eco-friendly products to the Moroccan market.
The innovation benefits the business greatly. In 2018, people prefer to consume smartly. Each pair of sneakers is handmade with traditional techniques and each sale profits a girl’s education. Amaz contribution to the “Education for All” projects can be and is used as a marketing argument to attract target customers. Actually, the innovation helped the business mainly in the European market where most of the company's target customers are.
According to Mrs. Fadela, the company's CEO, Amaz's main customers are Eco-conscious people who do not mind paying more money for products that are ethically and environmentally correct.
The innovation benefits the society on the long-term, Mrs. Fadela shared with us a Senegalese proverb that inspires her efforts: “To educate a girl, is to educate a nation". Her goal is to help her country and its girls. Plus, the sneakers are vegan and the packaging is a fabric bag that can be recycled or used as a tote bag.
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Fadela Bennani, CEO and Founder
The company is called Amaz. Amaz sells stylish and quality sneakers, but it’s more than just that. It also incorporates a touch of Moroccan handicraft to all its models. Indeed, on an Amaz sneaker, you can find beautiful designs made of “Terz Fassi” or “Mozouna”, and laces made of “Sfifa”. In addition, all the sneakers are handmade, in Morocco, by Moroccan craftsmen: the “Maâlems”.
Besides innovating in the design and manufacturing of its products, Amaz is concerned about the social part of business as well. Indeed, the “AMAZ for Education” program contributes to the financing of the education of girls in the High Atlas Region.