Music Title: Mohamed Ramadan Ft. Soolking - Paris Dubai (Music Video) / محمد رمضان وسولكينج - متعودة Signer: Mohamed Ramadan Ft. Soolking Release Date: 1 Jan. 2022 Official YouTube Link: Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -

Epomaker has a ton of products under its name, and in recent years has done a pretty good job of delivering unique boards at a decent price. The same can be said about the company’s first-ever gasket-mount mechanical keyboard, the Epomaker Lite. The Epomaker Lite is a 60 percent gasket mount mechanical keyboard that utilizes the company’s patented new “shallow gasket” design. It has a silicone pad and an absurd amount of screws to provide that ever-so desirable flex when typing. Unfortunately, the keyboard is also home to a bunch of unique issues. The Epomaker Lite is the company’s new 60 percent, gasket-mount mechanical keyboard, and it’s priced at an affordable $79 if you purchase it during the super early bird period. Otherwise, it will cost $89 during the regular early-bird period and $99 after that. Unfortunately, Epomaker has not told us when these various buying periods begin and end. Gasket mount mechanical keyboards are becoming increasingly po[CENSORED]r in the mechanical keyboard community, as they offer (if done right) a springy typing experience and a uniform sound profile. While writing this review, I have seen humdrum gasket mount boards, like the Glorious GMMK Pro, all the way to innovative marvels like the CannonKeys Bakeneko60, which felt like I was typing on a trampoline due to its o-ring design. Like the Bakeneko60, Epomaker took a different route when designing this gasket-mount keyboard, in this case by using a patented new shallow gasket design. I’ll be honest, though, I don’t understand why they call it that. Usually, with gasket mount keyboards, there are only four to six rubber or foam pads sandwiched between the switch plate and PCB, and while that works, the amount of flex is never uniform. The Epomaker Lite is unique in that it has an entire gasket pad that consists of silicone and sits between the whole PCB and switch plate. The silicone pad also sits beneath the PCB, and it is light enough to compress with each keystroke. Since the pad is silicone, it also does a great job of dampening any case ping. By contrast, in a more conventional gasket mount keyboard like the Keychron Q1, there are foam pads that are placed on the edges of the switch plate, which are then smushed down by a top plate. But because the switch plate isn’t screwed into anything, it can bounce around in the case, which is dampened by the foam pads. The Epomaker Lite’s design means it comes with a lot of screws. While I will touch upon this more in the typing experience section, after using the Epomaker Lite for about four days, I decided to remove around 90 percent of the screws because they weren’t necessary Underneath the keyboard are two flip-up feet, which you can use to elevate the typing angle on the board. I’ll elaborate on how I felt using the feet in the typing experience section, but I found it interesting that this board even came with feet. It’s a welcome addition, but we don’t always see flip-up feet in enthusiast-level mechanical keyboards. Frankly, I don’t know why. However, the flip-up feet are constructed of cheap plastic, and they rattle a ton. The rattle makes me want to place bets on when the feet will fly off the case, because that’s how flimsy they are. Surrounding the feet is a sleek CNC’d aluminum case that can easily match any high-end metal case in quality. Epomaker wasn’t playing games with the construction of the case, as it is solid and has a smooth sandblasted finish. I don’t really like the look of the case’s overly-rounded edges, but that’s just me. Like always, there’s a little cut-out to allow for the USB-C cable to connect to the board’s PCB in case you want to use the keyboard wired, which I recommend. This keyboard is technically wireless, but I had a lot of issues with it. When I connected the Epomaker Lite via Bluetooth 5.1, I had severe input lag and my keys regularly registered multiple keystrokes at once, causing a lot of typos. This is a shame, because Epomaker’s boards have shown good battery life in the past. But in this instance, I couldn’t take advantage of it. This issue would be the first of two I ran into with this board, which led me to contact Epomaker for help. Unfortunately, while they were very kind, the instructions I received from Epomaker did not fix the issue. The switches included with this model of the Epomaker Lite were Gateron Browns, although the keyboard itself is hot-swappable. The included switches felt like they were lubed by Epomaker, and while I would normally say, “Great, they actually lubed the switches,” it seems like they didn’t do it right. Because the Brown switch is a tactile switch, to maintain tactility while improving the smoothness, you need to use a thinner lube, like Trybosys 3203. From what I felt, Epomaker used Krytox 205g0, which is thicker and used for linear switches. Fortunately, they didn’t mess up when it came to lubing the stabilizers because, for the first time, I can say that I have received a keyboard to review that has properly lubed stabilizers. Epomaker opted to use an FR4 switch plate, which I really like because it is light enough to allow for flexibility when typing. The keycaps on the Epomaker Lite are dye-sub PBT and feature a somewhat rubbery feel to them, but not so rubbery to where my fingers get clammy. When you’re dealing with dye-sub keycaps, you run the risk of getting blurry or inconsistently printed alphas. However, these keycaps looked perfectly fine and I didn’t notice any blur. I’m not a big fan of the keycap colorway here; I get a Boston Red Sox vibe from them, and as a die-hard New York Yankees Fan, I felt obligated to swap these out. Since this board is compatible with Macs, Epomaker also included Mac keycaps. So if you plan on using this board with an Apple machine, feel free to swap out the modifiers. Like all of Epomaker’s boards, this board is suffocated by RGB. The keycaps aren’t shine-through, either. Luckily, you can turn the RGB off, but you’ll need to use Epomaker’s infamous GK6X software. Since the Epomaker Lite is a 60 percent keyboard, you need to rely on specific inputs to control your audio levels rather than media keys. When I first received the Epomaker Lite, every input worked as intended, but one day during testing, the audio control inputs stopped working. Apparently, I accidentally swapped to a key binding layer with no media inputs assigned, and needed to use FN + W/E at the same time to change layers again. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about this trick until I contacted Epomaker, and it’s a bit of a shame that it was so easy to accidentally swap layers without any easily apparent way to get back to my old one. Typing Experience on the Epomaker Lite Like I mentioned earlier, the Gateron Brown switches that Epomaker included with this board were lubricated, but incorrectly. With any Brown switch, whether it is TTC (like we saw in the Logitech POP Keys), Cherry or in this case, Gateron, you are not given much tactility to begin with, so lubing them is risky if not done correctly. I also mentioned earlier that this case has flip-up feet, but they aren't very useful. In all seriousness, the feet are too short to provide a usable angle, and I can see them breaking off in time due to their cheap composition. However, it was a neat feature for Epomaker to add to this board, because I've never seen an enthusiast-level 60 percent with flip-up feet before. Here's hoping Epomaker is just testing the waters and that its next board improves on the feet. Epomaker did a good job making this board dance, thanks to the shallow gasket design. I won't say that it moves as much as the Bakeneko60, but it definitely flexes more than other gasket-mounted boards like the Keychron Q1, Glorious GMMK Pro and the Cyberboard R3. The company claims a "firm and stable typing experience with a slight elastic character," and that's precisely what I got here. This feeling of flex does not improve your typing speed or decrease typos. However, it is one of those things that just never gets old, as it is just different from the usual mechanical keyboard and gives your keystrokes a bouncy, relaxing feel. The over-lubed switches are somewhat of a double-edged sword here because you're missing out on some tactility, but you're also getting less spring ping and smoother keystrokes. Overall, I preferred these over-lubed Brown switches to unlubed ones. But if you're a fan of Brown switches for their tactility, then you'll be disappointed here. Unlike the Bakeneko60, which is kept in the case via friction from the rubber o-ring, the Epomaker Lite relies on screws (like a tray mount board) and a silicone pad between the PCB and switch plate. One day during testing, I was changing out the Gateron Browns for my 98g spring-swapped Gateron Blacks when I decided to remove all but two of the screws on the Epomaker Lite. I removed a lot of the screws so that I could simply give this board some more room to dance around while keeping it in the case, and it made a dramatic difference in giving the keyboard more flex. The modifications I performed are not mandatory and may be impractical to many. However, after using the Epomaker Lite in its vanilla form and then again while modded to get a proper gasket mount feeling, removing screws is the way to go. All in all, Epomaker's wacky shallow gasket mount design worked well for me, but the company didn't need to use so many screws, as it reduces the flex that draws people to gasket mount boards. Gaming Experience on the Epomaker Lite Brown switches have always been favored by the most elite gamers because they’re light, at just 45g, while also being a tad tactile. I was curious to see how this board would perform in-game because it is using lighter switches while still feeling bouncy given its gasket mount nature. The game of choice this time around was Batman: Arkham Origins. The reason why I picked Origins over the other three installments is the boss fight with Deathstroke. When you’re fighting Deathstoke, he lunges at you with his staff and you need to time the hits perfectly. Just like he did eight years ago, Deathstroke killed me multiple times before I could time his attacks. The responsiveness of the Gateron Brown switches did its job, and even though I wasn’t entirely paying attention to the flex when fighting Deathstroke, I did notice that the bottom out feel was a lot softer. I experienced input lag when in Bluetooth mode, but connection aside, the board performed as any board with brown switches would— fast and slightly tactile. Like I mentioned earlier, the switches were a bit over-lubed, so the tactility was not ideal, but it was enough to where I felt more aggressive when countering Deathstroke. Many moons ago, in my Drop Carina review, I mentioned how its 60 percent size was more comfortable for longer game sessions since it takes up less space on my desk. The same can be said about the Epomaker Lite, and the springy gasket mounting mechanism added some more fun and comfort.

I’m no stranger to working from home; in fact, I was doing two days a week at home even before the pandemic forced many of us to strictly avoid the office. So I’ve had a decent home office setup for a long while – a standing desk, a second monitor docked with my laptop and a decent office chair. What I hadn't bothered with was a dedicated keyboard and mouse, instead using the laptop’s built-in keyboard and trackpad, which worked fine... until over the course of a few short weeks I found my neck muscles and right shoulder flaring up in pain. To be fair, the muscle issues weren't new – I've suffered from chronic muscle tightness of the back for a while. What using the laptop's keyboard and trackpad did was exacerbate the problem until it became a deep burning sensation in the right shoulder joint. As reluctant as I was to change the setup I was so used to, something needed to be done – and so entered an ergonomic keyboard and vertical mouse into my life. By day three of using both, the burn I was feeling in my right shoulder had all but disappeared. There’s a lot of debate on whether an ergonomic setup is truly beneficial – some swear by it (particularly companies trying to promote these products), while others think they’re overrated. I take the middle path: the keyboard and mouse have not cured my repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) – far from it – but they have made my day-to-day functioning a lot more comfortable and I’ll happily extol the virtues of the ergonomic keyboard and mouse to anyone who’ll listen. I’ll also be the first one to admit that it may not suit everyone. But if one of your new year's resolutions is to boost the comfort of your home office setup, it's certainly well worth investigating. To go ergonomic or not to go ergonomic... The issue with getting an ergonomic keyboard is that there are different types, each with its own pros and cons. Figuring out which one will suit you best isn’t easy, especially when you can't visit a store to try one. I spent days researching arm and wrist placements on different types of ergonomic keyboards to see which one would (in theory) help the shoulder joint best. I finally chose the Logitech Ergo K860 split wireless keyboard – it’s also the model we rate as the best ergonomic keyboard here at TechRadar. And since I had no clue whether it was the laptop keyboard or using the trackpad that was causing my discomfort, I decided I might as well get an ergonomic mouse too and for that I chose the Logitech MX Vertical wireless mouse. I honestly cannot say whether it’s the new split keyboard, the vertical mouse or the combination of both that sorted me out, but pain that no amount of physiotherapy could fix seemingly disappeared within days. Clearly, it was worth the investment. Instant connection Another factor that needs to be taken into account when purchasing ergonomic accessories is compatibility. Most ergonomic keyboards work remarkably well with Windows machines, even offering extra functionality keys that make light work. If you’re a macOS user, you’ll need to make sure there are drivers that you can use. That said, there’s a fair chunk of ergonomic wireless keyboards and mice that work fine with both operating systems (sometimes even without dedicated drivers). Both my new accessories connected to my MacBook instantly via Bluetooth, but they did require the installation of the Logi Options app to convert them from their default Windows setup to work correctly with macOS. Another reason I opted for this particular Logitech keyboard was because it uses the company's PerfectStroke keys, which don't take a lot of effort and therefore help reduce the strain on fingers and wrists. Moreover, the domed split keyboard design ensured my arms were placed just right, forcing me to sit a certain way and in turn improving my posture. As for the mouse, the Logitech MX Vertical is a strange-looking device to say the least, but that bulging boat-like shape works in its favor. The 'sail' (or vertical) part of it rising from the main body is slightly angled left, offering a remarkably large and comfortable thumb rest, while the opposite face of the vertical rise gives ample space for the rest of your fingers. Interestingly, the way your fingers intuitively get placed is practically perfect, with the forefinger and the middle finger lying on the left and right buttons respectively and the scroll wheel in the middle. The amount of finger movement required to operate this mouse is the bare minimum. And don't be fooled by its size – the mouse is extremely lightweight, so moving it around requires no effort. High investment It's not all sunshine and daisies with my new ergonomic setup though. It cost me a pretty penny – most ergonomic keyboards and mice are a hefty investment – and it took me days to get used to the split keyboard. Typing at my usual speed initially led to so many typos that I was forced to slow down and actually look at what I was doing, which in turn affected my productivity and trigger off a few neck aches because I kept looking down. I've had the keyboard now for about four months and I'm still getting used to it. While I have gotten faster at typing – making less typos and not looking at what I'm doing all that much – like most people I'm not a trained touch typist, and the old muscle memory is still placing my fingers in the wrong spots sometimes. For example, my thumbs occasionally still end up in the empty space between the two halves of the keyboard when looking for the G, B and N keys, and I still hit the Fn key instead of the Opt/Ctrl on the right side of the keyboard. Even the vertical mouse took some time investment on my part to come to grips with. It's quite big and my hands are small. Adapting from a trackpad to a regular Apple Bluetooth mouse, and then to the larger MX Vertical wasn't all that easy. A couple of weeks into using it, though, it felt like the most natural thing to hold, but I do have to use my middle finger to scroll as its longer length reaches the scroll wheel more easily. Despite claiming that the two new accessories have improved my day-to-day work, I can still feel my neck and shoulder complain occasionally. It's important to remember that ergonomic keyboards and mice aren't a cure – they're a preventive, provided you've found the right one for you. The damage to my muscles has been done – what the keyboard and mouse do is help curb further problems, and give the body a chance to heal itself. And they don't work independently. You still need a good chair to maintain your posture and make sure your arms and knees are parallel to the ground – it's the entire setup that can help alleviate typing-related strain. So, if I'm still feeling it, was it all worth the money? For me, yes. The fact that I can work pain-free for the most part trumps the inconvenience of learning to adapt to an ergonomic setup. Sure, I'm still a little slow at typing and the keyboard takes up a lot of space on my desk, but I've seen a huge improvement in comfort while working.

Rabat - Tayeb Hamdi, a Moroccan doctor and researcher in health policies and systems, has said that the first eight to ten weeks of 2022 will be difficult due to the new strain of the COVID virus. While adding that the overall epidemiological situation will improve by next spring, Hamdi raised concerns about the slowdown in vaccination and some citizens’ non-compliance with barrier measures. This apparent COVID complacency has significantly contributed to the recent spike in cases and the further spread of Omicron, the newest COVID variant, across Morocco, he argued. Hamdi warned that the significant increase in cases would more likely become “a threat to reach herd immunity even though Omicron would be less virulent than Delta.” Spring will mark a significant improvement in the epidemic situation in Morocco and around the world if people abide by restrictive measures, the expert said, calling for a rapid and massive restart of vaccination in the weeks to come and affirming that the third dose of vaccine is necessary to curb the spread of the virus. Hamdi also spoke in support of the vaccine pass, stressing that it aims to protect vulnerable people while ensuring an almost normal life for the vaccinated po[CENSORED]tion. He also outlined the importance of vaccinating children under the age of 12 to protect them and ensure that they can attend school without fears of being contaminated. “The virus will continue to circulate, but without serious societal impact, as long as severe forms are fewer and easily managed,” the health expert continued. As Morocco-produced Sinopharm vaccine will be soon available on the market, the country aims to become vaccine self-sufficient and export crucial doses to under-vaccinated African countries. Hamdi lauded Morocco’s efforts to manufacture anti-COVID-19 vaccines locally, describing the policy as “a step towards bio tech, towards the future, for sovereignty and health and strategic security, and an ability to face health crises in the future.” With the imminent launch of the manufacturing of Sinopharm’s vaccine, Morocco aims at a production capacity of five million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per month. The World Health Organization (WHO) urged all countries to vaccinate 70% of their po[CENSORED]tion by mid-2022. Despite global efforts, profound inequalities persist when it comes to producing and distributing vaccines. Official estimates suggest Africa is currently the most exposed region to the virus, with the continent counting so far only 9% of COVID-vaccinated people.

Music Title: KOUZ1 - Trap Roumi V3 ( official music audio ) Signer: KOUZ1 Release Date: 31 Dec. 2022 Official YouTube Link: Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -

Happy birthday brother ❤️

Happy birthday

Morocco's security services thwarted two irregular migration operations on 30-31 December, 2021 in Tarfaya. The operations led to the arrest of several individuals and the seizure of equipment used in irregular migration attempts. The arrested would-be irregular migrants were trying to reach the Canary Islands through the Atlantic, according to local reports. In the first operation, Moroccan authorities intercepted on Thursday a group of irregular migrants, including three women and a child. The group of migrants managed to flee the authorities, reports indicated. Local authorities said the operation led to the seizure of an inflatable boat, a motorboat, and 4 drums of gasoline. On the morning of December 31, 2021, authorities foiled the second attempt on the beach Bousseroual, near Akhfenir. The second operation resulted in the seizure of an inflatable boat, 6 drums of gasoline, and a motorboat. With Morocco becoming a po[CENSORED]r transit country among Europe-bound irregular migrants, Morocco has stepped up its efforts to combat irregular migration and human trafficking on its coasts. On November 25, 2021, the Royal Navy rescued in Laayoune a drifting inflatable boat with 59 Sub-Saharans on board, including the lifeless body of a Senegalese citizen, 8 women, and 2 minors. On the same day near Tarfaya, also in southern Morocco, local authorities foiled a Canary Islands-bound irregular migration attempt. The operation led to the arrest of 30 sub-Saharans irregular migrants. Moroccan authorities apprehended 466 people linked to 123 human trafficking networks in 2020 alone. They also stopped 9,179 irregular migrants on their way to Europe, including 6,162 foreign nationals, from exiting Morocco. Moroccan security forces arrested 27,317 would-be migrants in 2019, including 20,141 foreign nationals, according to official data. Most observers now acknowledge that Morocco has indeed become a destination country for migrants. Still, the continued interception of the boats of Europe-bound irregular migrants off Moroccan coasts suggests many still view the North African country as a crossing point to the EU.

Music Title: MONS - IORI V4 ( Lyrics video ) Signer: MONS Release Date: 1 Jan. 2022 Official YouTube Link: Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -

Music Title: Saad Dsouli - RAPPI OULA 9EWED feat X7kira Signer: Saad Dsouli & X7kira Release Date: 30 Dec. 2021 Official YouTube Link: Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -

happy new year to all our lovely members ❤️

Music Title: KOUZ1 - MASARE feat Abduh ( Official Music Video ) Signer: KOUZ1 & Abduh Release Date: 29 Dec. 2021 Official YouTube Link: Information About the Signer: - Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): -

Via looks to cease chip development in Texas after selling Centaur assets to Intel. Via Technologies sold its Centaur Technology x86 CPU development team to Intel in early November and the company is now auctioning off some of the equipment from Centaur's site in Austin, Texas. Essentially, this means that the company is shutting down the site and ending chip development operations in the U.S. "20,000 square feet of lab space, featuring over 1200 computer test stations and thousands of components," reads the auction description at Silicon Valley Disposition (via Andreas Schilling). "Servers, electronic test & measurement, Cadence supercomputer, microscopes, burn-in chambers, wafer probers, facility support, and much more." Selling off lab space, chip development, testing and debugging equipment means that neither Via Technologies nor Intel intend to keep the chip development site. For Intel (which would have to buy tools from Via separately as it only paid for developers and probably some IP), it makes more sense to add developers from Centaur to its existing teams rather than to keep them as a separate entity. For Via, it does not make any sense to keep expensive chip development in the USA. Centaur Technology was (and technically still is) a developer of x86 processors based in Austin, Texas. After becoming a subsidiary of Via Technologies in 1999, the company developed a number of microarchitectures, which later were used for CPUs designed by Zhaoxin (a joint venture between Via Technologies and the Shanghai Municipal Government), but never gained any tangible market share. At some point, Via understood that it might be lucrative to sell off its Centaur development team (for $125 million) and preserve its right to develop/build/sell x86 processors, retain its CPU-related patents and keep some engineers. Meanwhile, it does not look like it will continue to design CPUs in the U.S., but rather focus on its Zhaoxin joint venture.

Like playing browser-based games? Edge has you covered Microsoft is giving Edge users yet another way to procrastinate online by adding a new Games panel to its browser. After releasing its Chromium-based browser last year, the software giant has continued to update it with new features like Vertical Tabs, Collections, Web Capture and more in an effort to get users to switch from Google Chrome. Now though, it appears Microsoft is readying a new feature that will help users kill time online as opposed to being more productive while working from home. If browser-based games are your thing, then the company's new Games panel in Edge could be the perfect way to help pass the time while waiting for renders or downloads to finish. Games panel As reported by Windows Latest and first spotted by Leo Varela, Edge's new Games panel allows you to play classic games like Solitaire, Mahjong Arcade and others from MSN Games right in your browser. These games can be accessed from Microsoft's new “Games” toggle in Edge's toolbar though you'll also likely be able to open the new Games panel from the browser's three-dot menu as well. Clicking on the game controller icon in the toolbar will bring up a new panel on the right side of the browser in a similar way to how Collections work in Edge. From here, you just need to find a game you want to play and the MSN Games website will launch in your browser. Thankfully though, the Games panel will be disabled by default but you can enable it from the Appearance tab in Edge's settings. While Microsoft's new Games panel is currently being tested out in Edge Canary, it will likely come to the browser when the next stable update for Edge arrives.

Coupled with solid Indian-Moroccan relations, Morocco’s business-friendly reforms have attracted a new cohort of Indian companies keen to invest in the North African country as part of a border scheme aimed at tailoring win-win solutions in a spirit of South-South Cooperation. When asked whether this South-South cooperation agenda was part of his company’s calculus when deciding on its Moroccan expansion, Rajneesh Kumar Mittal, the CEO of Sumilon Eco PET, is quick to point at the urgency of turning the Global South into an “industrial hemisphere,” rather than the traditional provider of raw materials. From India to Morocco As he expanded on the point later on in a recent interview with Morocco World News, the Indian CEO did concede that Morocco’s business-friendly environment indeed played a crucial part in Sumilon Eco PET’s decision to establish a branch in the country. “Always to get to a place where you can see stability of growth” is a key sticking point for an investor, he said. But while the company's success as a leading recycling and repackaging factory worldwide -- it is in the top 5 of the food waste recycling industry -- only gathered steam recently in Morocco, its Moroccan story is not all that new. At the genesis of it all, there was the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency’s (AMDIE) unmissable promotion of Morocco, the “gateway to Africa,” as go-to investment destination. With AMDIE’s PR efforts, Morocco’s newfound status as a prized destination for investors recently had a big moment in the global limelight with the bold launch of the attention-grabbing “Morocco Now” initiative during the 2020 Dubai Expo. Long before its recent “15 minutes of fame” in the global media landscape with its eye-catching marketing of Morocco Now, however, AMDIE had long been engaged in promoting Morocco as a country of opportunities and attractive offers for foreign investors. A circular economy-powered and sustainability-driven company specialized in the recycling and repackaging of food waste, Sumilon Eco PET is among the new cohort of Indian businesses choosing to make the most of Morocco's business-friendly environment and growth potential. In fact, so convinced was the Indian company with the positive prospects of its Moroccan venture that it was the first foreign group to establish itself in the now famous and coveted Tangier Free Industrial Zone in 2013. Taking 2014 to build its Tangier plant, the company’s Morocco branch’s products finally hit the global market in 2015. Sumilon Eco PET manufactures eco-friendly, sustainable Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and its derivative RPET, which is prized for optimal food and beverage packaging given its lightweight, sturdiness, non-toxicity, and cost-efficiency. Also a global leader in the manufacturing of BOPET films and Metallized Film, Sumilon Eco PET’s Tangier plant currently recycles 1 billion bottles for multiple packaging usages (wine, fruit juice, soda, etc.) and employs around 250 collectors of used bottles across Morocco. The company’s inspiring “Moroccan success story,” as Moroccan business magazine Challenge recently described it, is as much a ringing vindication of its bet on the growth potential of the Moroccan market, as it is an illustration of Morocco’s sustainability and climate-conscious efforts. Or, as Mittal himself admitted in our interview, a large part of his company’s largely encouraging figures had a lot to do with the social and institutional receptiveness in Morocco. “I’m very impressed with the green solar plants Morocco is doing in the south” he said. Mitall added, however, that the bulk of the production at his company’s Tangier Plant is for export, especially to the European market. “I think in Morocco the regulations are coming up for having the green content in the future. As a company, we are here and will be there [to serve the Moroccan market] when the moment the demand emerges.” As such, with prospects of even more success in the future as sustainable business making wins more hearts and minds worldwide, the company has pledged to invest $20 billion -- its initial investment in its Moroccan venture -- on extension work at its Tangier plant. Once that is completed, projections are that Sumilon Eco PET Morocco will be able to recycle around 2.5 billion bottles every year and expand its bottle collection network in the country by generating around 3000 indirect jobs. Passion for sustainability Sumilon Eco PET has an international market reach across the four corners of the world, boasting a solid presence in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil in South America; the US and Canada in North America; as well as Zambia and South Africa in the African continent. In Morocco, the Indian company is the first to manufacture 100% of its products using recycled material. While this is a sure enough recipe for a sizable return on investment, Mittal is adamant that financial calculations should not be the backbone of business making in our age of sustainable development. As he sees it, positive social impact is as critically important as the need to make profits. To the Indian CEO, investing is no longer just about making business as usual. And while profit maximisation still remains a crucial component of the business making equation, it should no longer be the sole focus of a company. Beside stability and growth, he argued, another important part of the equation “is how you can create a positive impact on the people around you, which could be your colleagues working with you, which could be your customers, your supplies.” Critics of the corporate world’s recent focus on “social responsibility” speak of a PR stunt by savvy investors more driven by the need to take advantage of the inescapable green revolution than by a genuine desire to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals. Mittal’s response suggests Sumilon Eco PET is a true believer in the sustainability cause that happens to have realized long ago that beyond its nobility, the cause is actually profitable. For him, his company is the living proof of his conviction that a transition towards a green economy, daunting as it may be, is both possible and profitable. “I think we should be very clear, as investors, that if we aim for sustainability, our agenda should be clear. Profitability follows, and it comes,” he commented. “I have no doubt that sustainable projects are profitable. It may not be as good as many other businesses but it’s not so back behind. And sustainability is a long-term goal, not a short-term goal.” Such an attitude is a far cry from conservative voices sounding the alarm around the globe that sustainability is simply not good for business, or that benchmarking sustainability for business making will cause millions of job loss. Mitall believes that his company’s passion for the environment helped them develop present and future business plans with, as ever, their traditional two-fold goal of profitability and sustainability. Tangier is just the start of a broader Moroccan dream With the projected additional $20 million investment in Tangier, the Indian green manufacturer is set to bolster its production in Morocco by 200% in the short term. The goal of this new venture is to establish a strong foothold in Morocco and expand beyond, Mittal said, explaining that his company is considering the prospect of being listed on the London stock exchange in the long run. When asked about his choice to found Sumilon Eco PET in Morocco as a SARL, the CEO explained that his long-term vision is to establish the Tangier-based company as the parent company for another branch in Morocco. “In the medium term, when the port of Dakhla will be ready, we are deliberating the possibility of creating a company in Dakhla as a hub for Africa. When the Dakhla port is ready, we plan to acquire raw materials from Africa and recycle them in Dakhla,” he said. “All these new investments will be held by our company in Tangier, which is Sumilon Eco PET, so it will become a much larger organization; an independent organization, focused only on green products, so this is our agenda, this is why we created an independent company here.” Dakhla’s Atlantic Port is the flagship mega port of Morocco’s massive investments in making its southern region a continental and global commercial hub. The port cost a $1.1 billion budget and is due to enter into service in 2028, according to Oxford Business Group. Once operational, the Dakhla port will offer the perfect infrastructure for businesses in Morocco to expand their operations in Africa and beyond. With a projected processing capacity of 2.2 million tons of goods, the Dakhla Atlantic Port will become Morocco’s second-largest port, behind Tanger Med, the largest port in the Mediterranean region and in Africa. But the Tanger Med Port is only one of the many incentives that prompted him to flag Morocco as an important business destination. Accounting for the incentives provided by the Moroccan government, Mittal explained that the country's major attraction for business makers is the positive-attitude towards newcomers. “We didn’t feel that we were out of our country. The people here were very welcoming, be it the investment agency of Morocco or the ministry of industry, be it the Willaya of Tangier and the administrative department. We were quite welcomed,” he said. After describing at length the warm welcome his company received in Morocco from governmental bodies and ordinary Moroccans alike, the Indian CEO spoke equally positively of Morocco’s efficient business infrastructure. In particular, he noted Morocco’s strategic location and the country’s 54 Free Trade Agreements with several countries, saying that both incentives open the gateway to over one billion consumers worldwide for Morocco-based companies. “If you look at Tanger MedPort, it’s quite efficient to connect with Europe, USA, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America,” Mittal explained. “Before coming to Morocco, I never imagined that we could deliver products to our customers within seven days in the north of America. Our customers in America treat us like we are an American company based in America because they receive our product earlier than they receive products in America.” He further pointed out that his company was initially skeptical about the possibility of shipping products to the other hemisphere. However, Sumilon Eco PET now supplies customers in Australia from Morocco just as efficiently as from India. In addition to political stability and the logistical incentives Morocco offers foreign investors, the North African country has recently set up multiple funds for business makers. Sumilon Eco PET benefited from the services of one of these funds for both its business ventures. “We received incentives from the Hassan II fund [a state fund for Economic and Social development] for our previous project and even for the new project, the government is extending that help to us,” continued Mittal. The necessity of a green transition Numerous reports and studies have come to the conclusion that there is indeed a rising demand for green products, offset primarily by a base-effect of customers preference. It is true that many governments are still dragging their feet when it comes to delivering on their climate promises. Still, with many global actors awakening to the climate urgency, projections are that most consumers’ embrace of sustainability and ecological-friendliness is bound to make ecological calculations an essential aspect of business making in the future. According to some global estimates, searches for sustainable goods have grown by 71% since 2016, prompting businesses in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and fashion sectors to take into account consumers’ growing appetite for sustainable products. A keen observer of such global trends, Mittal is spot on when discussing the inexorable transition to sustainable business. And his bold verdict is that companies that are not willing to turn green will go out of business as worldwide demand for green products gains momentum. He explained, “If you look at the major brands on earth, across the world, I am not only talking about this part of the world, if you look at the USA, places like Australia, the United Kingdom, all the major brands on earth, want a minimum of green content in their food packaging, they insist for it, why they insist on it? It’s because the consumers are asking them to do so.” For a very long time, industrialism was always linked to high levels of carbon emissions, standing at roughly 29.4% of all emissions. Naturally, taking the green turn for industry-based businesses was quite challenging. As it relies on state-of-the-art technology, the production of green goods is prohibitively costly. But this did not prevent Sumilon Eco PET from setting up even more ambitious plans consisting not only of manufacturing sustainable products but doing so in a sustainable way. Toward the end of our interview, Mittal spoke passionately about Sumilon Eco PET’s top two short-term ambitions: Powering the company’s Tanger factory using solar panels from the factory’s rooftop, and transitioning to a 100% fleet of electric cars. For him, the future of business is bound to be green. Transiting towards a green economy is not a luxury; it’s a necessity, he said.