The Team Behind the Morocco GIS Database 2006

GNAV in a Global economy.

Yes we survived our second year, we are still alive in this global economy where only the fittest survives....

Lessons learned in 2007:

• It all starts and ends with faith: Believing in your company, believing in your people, believing in making miracle projects happen such as the one we made: more than 400 cities surveyed in less than 4 months......Our team has grown from a couple of people to over 50 Engineers and technicians during our summer census. And yes it was tough but we managed it very well and our customer is very happy :) ....... We are very proud to have finished the nationwide census...
• Working with Multinationals is a great way to get ready for international competition.
• You can never spend enough time planning your projects.
• Risk is to be managed carefully.
• Whatever could go wrong will go wrong so spend enough time getting ready for it.
• Managing company finances is critical for the success of company projects.
• Hang in there long enough and stick to your vision .
• GNAV can make a difference in bringing GIS to businesses in Morocco.

Hard work pays: GNAV in Telquel

I was really honored to be part of the 50 moroccan personalities that the magazine Telquel believes will make Morocco's Tomorrow.

http://www.telquel-online.com/246/couverture_246_1.shtml

The last couple of weeks have been highly challenging but thinking of a good future and how rewarding it can be for the company as well as our country makes it very much worth the struggle.....

Hang in there guys..... God willing we will make it :)

GNAV New Address

Global Navigation déménage

Nouvelle addresse / New address:
21, Résidence Andalousse
Angle Naciri et Louis David
n6 2éme étage Palmier Casablanca

Be part of one of the fastest growing IT Companies in Morocco... Job Opening: Field Operations Manager

Afin de l’accompagner dans son développement, la société Global Navigation est à la recherche d’un responsable de terrain. Nous somme à la recherche de quelqu’un avec au moins 3 à 5 ans d’expérience dans un poste similaire. Pour ceux d’entre vous qui ne connaissent pas Global Navigation, nous sommes spécialisé dans les Systèmes d’Informations Géographique. Plus spécifiquement la fourniture d’informations / données géographiques et étude de marchés liées à la géographie (Applications : Géomarketing, Optimisation de trajet, Distribution, Navigation, Suivi de Véhicules…etc.)

Responsable Terrain (Field Operations Manager)
Recrutement et Animation des équipes d’intervention terrain : Superviseurs, Techniciens, Enquêteurs, Qualiticiens, etc.
Conception, administration et suivi des indicateurs de performance des équipes de terrain.
Conception et administration de formations d’ordre général au profit des intervenants sur le terrain (Exemple : Approche des personnes questionnées pour les enquêteurs, Management et Motivation du personnel pour les Superviseurs)
Planification et gestion de tous les aspects logistiques (Transport, Logement, Nourriture) relatifs aux projets et/ou études en cours.
Gestion opérationnelle et suivi de la qualité des données collectées en coordination avec la Direction du Système d’ Information.
Conception et entretien d’une base de données qualifiée des ressources humaines (Statistiques de qualité, etc…) ayant travaillé pour l’entreprise.
Gestion des Carrières des Intervenants Terrain.



Salaire motivant + prime.

Merci de nous envoyer les CVs sur globalnavigation@gmail.com Ref :FOM

Developping story... Google earth unavailable in Morocco since yesterday.

In the last two days Google earth has not been available in Morocco. A few days back the same issue in Bahrain. Is it the US bloking access? It it due to the current world events? Is it Morocco blocking access? Or is it just a technical issue?????? I hope to get some clarifications soon.....
All I know is all the people in Morocco have reported no acees... All my friends and family in the US are able to access it....

L’équipe gagnante

Voilà notre équipe d'enqueteurs, superviseurs, qualiticiens et chefs de projets durant l'un des moments les plus forts du projet de cet été 2006. Ca valait vraiment le coup de prendre le weekend pour que toutes les équipe puissent se revoir et profiter du calme et de la beauté du Nord Marocain.

Bonne chance pour les autres zones du Royaume.... :)

GlobalNavigationETE2006EQUIPE
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Global Navigation sur 2M

Pour ceux d'entre vous qui nous ont raté sur 2M la semaine derniére, en voilà quelques extraits.

We made it on National TV CHannel 2M last week. Thanks to all of you who called to confirm they believe in us :)

GNAV_VIDEO_01
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GNAV_VIDEO_02
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GNAV_VIDEO_03
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GNAV_VIDEO_04
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GNAV_VIDEO_05
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GNAV_VIDEO_06
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GNAV_VIDEO_07
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GNAV_VIDEO_08
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What kind of a Manager am I?

Based on the "entrepreneur.com" quiz for evaluating management skills, below are my results. Not bad, but still room for improvement :)

Your Score Is: 67/83
Wow, you're some boss!
Your company is going to go far, and you're most likely poised to achieve much
success in the future.

Based on the following 15 questions:

1. If I had to switch places for a week with one of my employees, I would:
2. How do you feel about the company rules your employees have to abide by?
3. When it comes to working with your employees, which of the following
statements best describes you?
4. If my employees are doing a great job...
5. Generally, my office demeanor is...
6. When it comes to training or
encouraging ongoing education...
7. If an employee offers a suggestion or
new strategy idea...
8. In this order, how would you rank what's most
important to you and your business?
9. When there's a crisis in the
company...
10. I take constructive criticism from my employees...
11. When it comes to the computer equipment, workspace and other tools I offer my
employees: 12. How would your employees describe you?
13. When it comes to
making decisions, how do you think your employees would describe you?
14. Which of the following best describes the relationship you have with your
employees?
15. My company...

Team in Action

Press Release: 15 Moroccan cities Update on its way

GNAV's Goal of updating 15 cities by the end of 2006 is well on its way.

3 cities have been updated and at this rate we shall reach 500 000 POIs of Morocco's major cities by the end of december 2006. Everybody in the team has renewed their commitment for respecting the deadline.

Here are the 15 city updates to be released on digital format (1:5000):

• Casablanca
• Rabat / Salé
• Marrakech
• Fés
• Meknés
• Agadir
• Oujda
• Tanger
• Tetouan
• Kenitra
• Khouribga
• Mohammedia
• El Jadida
• Safi
• Beni-Mellal

GNAV team growing some more

The team is growing: We are now six people, Naima and Ghizlane El Haloui have joined us in the last couple of months.
Below is a picture of the wonderful growing Global Navigation team, I want to make a special thanks to Ghizlane who has really made a difference in the last two months in helping the team work better and smoother, she has taken care of so many details that we have been putting off for many months and which make a big difference ....
Thank you Ghizlane and keep up the good work, the whole team appreciates your hard work....

GNAV Mision statement for 2006 and 2007

For a startup, VISION is everything, SELF DIRECT YOURSELF AND YOUR COMPANY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, becuas during the hard times that vision is all you got...

After meeting with the whole team last week, here are our GOALS in the short/mid-term:
* Be the NORTH AFRICA leader in providing GIS DATA before the end of 2007...
* Reach between 3000000 dhs and 5000000 dhs in Sales by the end of 2007 (10dhs = 1Euro)..
* Through providing updated and accurate data, act as the catalyst in the development of the tracking, navigation and geomarketing sectors in North Africa.

Yes, very few companies in the region dare share such strategic information, but I do share it beacuse I believe in what my team and company are able to do..... And if it is for competition, I love it and I like to see more of it, it creates more value and more motivation for me .....

We made it through 2005, 2006 is but another challenge that we will overcome.... What is great is that I am very contagious, I have transferred most of my motivation and energy to the rest of the team.... :)

We have learned some key lessons in 2005 and here a few of them:
* Invest as much as you can in planning a GIS project.
* YOu can never invest enough on people.
* Maps are very time consuming and it is important to define very clearly the start ans the end.
* Write your goals down, talk about them everyday and get closer to them daily.
* Entrepreneurship is a Marathon, not a RACE.
* If you want to do business in North Africa, do it with Businesse, the public sector takes too long unless you have the right contact :( especially if you are a startup
* Keep up the positive attitude everyone likes it and everyone wants more of it...

Global Navigation team wishes you a Happy Holiday / Equipe de GNAV vous souhaite eid moubarak

Global Navigation team wishes you a Happy Holiday of Eid Al Adha
L'Equipe de GNAV vous souhaite bonne fete de Eid Al Adha

Hard work pays: Highlights of last month

Entrepreneurship is truly a Roller coaster and I sure am enjoying the ride.
In the last month I have been quite busy but on a positive note this time:
* We (Global Navigation) have received 3 Purchasing orders all at once (as they say, when it rains it pours :) Yes, theories, Business plans and all I have talked about in the last few months has been translated into real work..... Yes Hard HARD Hard work always pays off...... But you have to believe in yourself and your company first, then everybody else will follow.
* I have recently joined a wonderful Organization MAC: The Moroccan American Circle. It is a great way to meet people that share similar experiences (Moroccans who studied/worked in the US or vice versa). I have met many old friends, and got to know new ones. I take this organization very seriously and I think it will be very rewarding to all its members.
* The Global Navigation team is expanding, we have hired a new Engineer with yet a different background. (Ingenieur Agronome with 1 year GIS expertise in CRTS)
* Rekia (our Geology PH.D.) is managing 7 part tome technicians in the Field and I think she is learning a great deal about managing GIS projects on the field (I feel good about her development as well as my development in delegating such important tasks to members of the team.......
* Last but not least, I am signing an Agreement (Convention) with Faculté des science of HAssan 2 University. I believe this will be beneficial to the GIS students as well as to our company...


Yes.... A lot of things are happening...... I will try to keep you guys posted despite my busy schedule....

Have a great one, and do not forget: HARD WORK really pays off :)

Cartographie, Maps of Morocco here are some samples

MAP 1

MAP 2

MAP 3

MAP 4

MAP 5




Many of you have asked me what exactly we do in Global navigation. We collect data of all kinds for Morocco (Maroc) and North Africa. Below are some snapshots of the cities we have.
Our data is in Digital fomat (arcGIS, Mapinfo, Intergraph...etc) which means that it can be used for many applications such as:
* Geomarketing
* Business GIS
* Vehicle Tracking
* Navigation
....etc
Map 1: City Map of Marrakech / Carte de la ville de Marrakech
Map 2: City Map of El Jadida / Carte de la ville d'El Jadida
Map 3: City of Casablanca / Carte de la ville de Casablanca 1
Map 4: City of Casablanca Neighberhoods / Quartiers de la ville de Casa 2
Map 5: City of Casablanca / Carte de la ville de Casablanca "

Secrets of succesful entrepreneurs... A good sign..

Read what successful entrepreneurs say in the link below....... Very ineteresting they seem to all agree on many points.... Some of them even sound like me....
It looks like "GLOBAL NAVIGATION" is on its way :)


http://www.entrepreneur.com/hot100/listings/0,6868,296117-2005-0,00.html

Give Givve Give ..... Then may be you may take... At least gain the good relationship with your customers....

Here is a great lesson I just realized this last week. In Business, or in life in general, one has to give a lot and then expect to take.
Most young companies think by just being there purchasing orders will start coming and they hope to get them within the first few months of the creation of the company. Yes they will come, but in order for that to happen I think one has to get in the habit of giving in the following ways:
* Give Advice to your potential customers as if you would do for yourself.
* Try to truly put yourself in your customers shoes and see what they really
need.

If for example they are too looking for a customer try to connect them with the people you know and whom can be their customers. Once they are at ease with you and they start seeing all they can get from you I think the good relationship is built..... Purchasing orders then become just a little detail because now the foundations are there: "The exceptional Relationship they have with you"...

Business Cards are ready...

Business cards are ready.... Let the profesional Networking begin :)

Maps for Tourism development

While making a web serach on this first day of Ramadan, I found this excellent research paper on the necessity for maps in tourism development.
Enjoy:
http://office.geog.uvic.ca/mapsandtourism/chapter2-6.html