Morocco has launched an ambitious strategy to lead technological development in Africa and position itself as a world leader in digital innovation. Under the program Digital Morocco 2030the country will allocate around $1.1 billion to support new companies, attract foreign investment and encourage the growth of startups high impact.
One of the main objectives of this plan, is that at least two Moroccan startups will be part of the exclusive “unicorn club” by 2030. This term, coined in 2013 by Aileen Lee, refers to the startups valued at more than $1 billion. Currently, only 532 companies in the world belong to this group, which underlines the difficulty and prestige of achieving this goal.
However, Morocco faces structural challenges to achieve it. According to Omar Hayaniinvestment manager of the Digital Morocco Fund, the lack of large investorshe monopoly in key sectors and the distrust towards local startups hinder the growth of these emerging companies.
The African market: a strategic opportunity
Compared to other African countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya, which received hundreds of millions of dollars in investments for their startups in 2022, Morocco has a more limited market. Thus, experts such as Ismail Belkhayat, founder of the startup Chari, consider that Expanding to other African countries could be key to overcoming this obstacle.
Belkhayat believes that Morocco should follow the Saudi Arabia modelwhich has boosted its startup ecosystem through initiatives such as Saudicornsfocused on emerging technologies and government support.
Figures that drive change
The program Digital Morocco 2030 search multiply the number of startups in the country, going from the current 380 to 3,000 by the end of the decade. In addition, at least 10 companies are expected to reach the category of “gazelles”valued at more than half a million euros, and that the outsourcing revenue will increase from 25 billion dirhams in 2026 to 40 billion dirhams in 2030.
He Mohammed VI Investment Fundalong with others 15 local and foreign fundswill play a crucial role in financing startups in sectors such as financial technology, education and health.
