ASFOUR
Karim Mashallah, a Moroccan national, was born in Rabat on April 12, 1964. At the age of eighteen hi began his business career.
In his heart, he intended to find a path for himself to satisfy his artistic whims and be succesful. He went to the scientific capital of Fez, the cradle of Moroccan traditional arts par excellence. He chose the art of jewelery making, in which he spent several years studying in cooperation with the Moroccan Jewish School, through which he was able to restore the artistic and cultural footprint of the authentic Moroccan style that had previously been obliterated
With the same spirit imbued with Moroccan authenticity and culture, he built a traditional palace, inspired bythe amaizing Moroccan-Arab-Andalusian heritage.
In the midst of these successive achievements and successes, his aim is to contribute to revitalizing the cultural tourism field. His palace is considered a masterpiece and is an artistic landmark In sum, it is a joyful sight dominated by beauty and perfection, almost touching perfection
Can Mr Karim describe to us what Asfour Crystal means for him?
The Asfour Crystal brand is well known, present in 86 countries around the world, it is considered the number 1 in terms of quality globally and it is an extension of the group MashaAllah, the jewelry sector, as we have common points in terms of using the same materials and precious metals such as gold and precious stones.
How have you been able to unite art and culture envisaged in his creativity with an entrepreneurial aspect and spirit?
We strive together to add the authentic Moroccan touch in order for the product to have harmony
With the African taste, we are in the process of covering the national territory with the Asfour brand, as two major exhibitions were opened in Rabat and Temara. It is about to open a third luxury exhibition in the economic capital of Casablanca.
This was a real challenge, a difficult equation to balance, in which the soul had to be preserved Professionalism in the face of a dry, emotional business world that is governed by profit margins, was the solution.
It is clinging to oneself and adhering to identity and roots, and showing a spirit of citizenship, and freedom from obsession.
Profit, bring collective interest to individuality and maintain team spirit.
Are you satisfied with the results achieved so far? What are your new perspectives?
I am completely satisfied with being true to myself, in harmony with my surroundings, proud of my worth and everything
The achievements express my personality and my affiliation to my country.
Our current and future directions are towards developing the tourism field and defining art and cultural heritage.
Moroccan is very diverse, creating a new style that expresses and highlights the various arts and heritage of civilizations. The past is in Morocco, and its collection in a smooth and homogeneous way makes you travel through the history of Morocco between different periods of time and to different places.
Do you think of developing your group at international level?
Of course, this is our goal, since we are talking about the Moroccan artistic heritage and bypass tourism, we are in the process of establishing several tourism projects of a Moroccan bypass nature, as well as framing and training a young team at a high level saturated with the same principles in order to be assured of the continuation of the group in the same manner.
What advice can you give to young people to achieve success?
Success measures and criteria are relative and variable for each of us
For me, success is a combination of many components that interact with each other, starting with self-satisfaction and self-realization, planting the individual’s footprint in any of his work and in various periods of his life, giving an added value and contributing to the development of the environment, society and the homeland, and preserving the cultural identity of each of us.
My advice to the youth is to always strive to imitate themselves and to make all their material and moral efforts to achieve their dreams without any fatigue or boredom, and to work with sincerity and without being preoccupied with the obsession of material profit, the spirit of team and citizenship, and belief in social succes
