As France, and Europe more broadly, see their influence recede across several African and Middle Eastern arenas, a handful of entrepreneurs continue to bet on cooperation and economic dialogue. Among them, Kamal Benali stands out as a key player in North-South economic diplomacy.
At a time when France and, more broadly, Europe are watching their influence recede across several African and Middle Eastern arenas, certain entrepreneurs continue to bet on cooperation and economic dialogue. Among them, Kamal Benali, Founder and Chairman of the Efficient Network group, embodies the new generation of bridge-builders between continents. With a strategic vision and a recognised international network, he has established himself as a key player in North-South economic diplomacy.
More than twelve years ago, Kamal Benali founded Efficient Network with a clear objective: to facilitate economic exchange between Europe and the MEA region (Middle East & Africa). In a little over a decade, the company has become a platform of strategic intelligence and consulting operating on a global scale. Present in Geneva, Brussels and Nicosia, Efficient Network draws on more than a hundred experts specialised by sector and by country.
"Our role is to support governments, companies and investors in their exchanges and their market entries," Benali explains. This approach, at once local and global, allows Efficient Network to build economic corridors founded on trust, transparency and a mutual understanding of cultures.
The group's success rests on two cardinal values: respect and trust. Respect for the cultures, rules and realities of partner countries; reciprocal trust between investors, institutions and public decision-makers. "We do not come to impose an outside vision," Benali stresses. "We adapt the client's strategy to the needs and expectations of the country."
Under Kamal Benali's leadership, Efficient Network acts as a genuine facilitator of trust between states, investors and international institutions. The company supports foreign direct investment, designs balanced public-private partnerships, encourages technology transfer and develops strategies tailored to local realities. Its expertise spans key domains such as food security, access to energy, natural resources and public health. Benali advocates for accessible healthcare systems, combining targeted free care and state support, convinced that economic growth cannot be built without social justice.
We believe in a model where economic growth is allied with social justice. The projects that lastingly transform societies are those built on trust and mutual respect.
Drawing on this conviction, Kamal Benali has taken part in numerous international negotiations, always with the same logic: to build bridges between Europe, Africa and the Middle East. His work reaches beyond the purely economic sphere; he works toward a refounding of Euro-Mediterranean relations grounded in cooperation, transparency and co-decision.
Specialised media outlets such as Intelligence Online and Africa Intelligence have highlighted his role in several strategic international projects and his ability to navigate between diplomatic, economic and institutional spheres. Visionary and pragmatic, Kamal Benali holds that relations between Europe, Africa and the Middle East must be rethought along a model of balanced co-development: "Fifteen years ago, bridges existed between all these countries. Today, they must be rebuilt, but on healthier, more respectful and more human foundations."
This ambition extends beyond the economic sphere alone: it is part of a global geopolitical vision in which the prosperity of the South is seen as a lever of stability for the North. For Benali, mutually beneficial cooperation is the key to confronting global challenges: climate change, migration, access to water, health and inclusive digitalisation. Today, Efficient Network is multiplying large-scale projects across the three continents and positioning itself as a discreet but decisive actor in intercontinental economic rapprochement.
Kamal Benali has never hidden his ambition: to see emerge, by 2030, a truly integrated Euro-African space, where companies and states cooperate on the basis of trust, knowledge and complementarity. "We want to be a bridge, not an intermediary. Our role is to help economies talk to one another, to understand each other and prosper together."
In this way, Kamal Benali establishes himself as a strategist of economic exchange between Europe, Africa and the Middle East. His global vision, his local roots and his deep conviction that sustainable growth can only be born of sincere cooperation make him one of the most influential and respected figures of the new international economic diplomacy.
Efficient Network — MEA Strategy & Development Consulting.