Analyzing and Comparing Market Potential
A market survey in Africa indicates Morocco, located in the Northern West side of this region as a potential target market for pulp and paper industry. The country’s score based on the Corruptions Perception Index of 2012 (CPI 2012), which ranges from 0 – 100 was 34 (El Mesbahi, 83). According to a report by the Central Authority for the Prevention of Corruption (ICPC) submitted to the prime minister in November 2012, Morocco had not made any significant achievements in the efforts to fight corruption. The report indicated a lack of adequate commitment by the government to eradicate corruption, whereby business and industry contributed 4% of the country’s crime (El Mesbahi, 89). The kinds of corruption entail the absence of traceability in the accounts, recurring insufficiencies in procurement management, and multiple kinds of conflict of interests.
The country produces approximately 0.156 million metric tons of pulp and paper against the imports of 0.510 (El Mesbahi, 88). In this consideration, investing in manufacturing from this country depicts a potentially large market share, which would cut down the need to import. Spain borders Morocco to the north, Western Sahara to the south, and Algeria to the East. The CPI scores for Spain is 65, Algeria 34, and Western Sahara is 41 (El Mesbahi, 87). The corruption level in these countries has no significant impact on the market entry in Morocco. Nonetheless, according to El Mesbahi (88), a correlation exists between fraud in the public sector and corruption, which indicates that contracts are mostly provided for individuals or companies that pay a bribe upfront. In this regard, in the case of a foreign company, the bribe is significantly higher, and the return profits per year are generally unpredictable.
Another potential target market to consider is Costa Rica, which is a country in Central Africa. The state, ranked at 54 by CPI 2012 presented on a 0 – 100 scale, it is the best in the region in terms of corruption and hence recommend it as a potential market (Wilson, 7). its average score in CPI gains it a temperate climate for both domestic and foreign trade. The country is recognized for its sustainable development through political stability and human capital. As such, this focus on maintaining environmental sustainability is a focal point of consideration as a potential market. Apparently, the government policies encourage conservation of the environment, which prompts challenges in home-based pulp and paper production. Resultantly, considering this gap is an essential concept to grasp the opportunity to sell our products in this country.
Costa Rica is the largest country in Central America with a stable focus on a green-growth trajectory. It is bordered by Nicaragua and Panama. These neighboring countries have lower scores on CPI 2012, with Panama ranked at 38, while Nicaragua scored 29 (Wilson, 15). Nonetheless, owing to Costa Rica’s record of stable economic performance, due to the controlled corruption rate and strong anti-corruption policies, the corruption levels in the neighboring countries have insignificant impacts on the market entry for our products. Further, the state strengthened its anti-bribery laws through Illicit Enrichment in the Public Service (Law №8422), which severely punishes the corrupt individuals or companies (Wilson, 20). In this consideration, our products will have dire protection against corruption. Further, the country focuses on strengthening institutions that detect and investigate the prosecution of corruption-related crimes. In this consideration, I commend that we major our focus on Costa Rica.
Works Cited
El Mesbahi, Kamal. “The Prevention of Corruption in Morocco: Between Rhetoric and Reality.” Pouvoirs 2 (2013): 83-97.
Wilson, Bruce. “Costa Rica’s Anti-Corruption Trajectory: Strengths and Limitations.” Available at SSRN 2479419 (2014).