Morocco plans to have two startups in the ‘unicorn club’ by 2030
Morocco is focusing on harnessing technological tools to better enable the nation's development by generating investments and clear objectives.
The Digital Morocco 2030 initiative has a budget of around USD 1.1 billion and aims to support start-ups during their development, either by providing funding or helping them to expand regionally and internationally, as well as attracting foreign investment. The aim is to have at least two Moroccan startups in the so-called ‘unicorn club’ by 2030.
The unicorn club
The term ‘unicorn club’ was first coined in 2013, when Cowboy Venture's Aileen Lee used it to describe startups valued at 1 billion dollars or more. At the time, there were only 39 companies in the US that fit the definition, including Uber, SpaceX, Tiktok and Airbnb, which have exceeded expectations.
According to data provided by Cowboy Ventures in 2023, there are 532 companies that form part of this select club, which is a 14-fold increase on the number in 2013. Undoubtedly, a huge growth and an affordable market for those who set their minds to it.
However, this leap from startup to unicorn is not so simple. The investment manager of the Digital Morocco Fund, Omar Hayani, stressed the difficulty of reaching multi-million dollar companies, due to the scarcity of large financiers, the existing monopoly in important economic sectors and the government's lack of confidence in the services of local startups.
Narrow market
Within the African continent, South Africa attracts the most investors for its startups, with funding deals exceeding 500 million dollars over the past year, followed by Nigeria, with 469 million; Egypt, with 433 million; and Kenya, with 335 million dollars, according to the Bartech platform.
Ismail Belkhayat, founder and CEO of the start-up Chari, believes that if the local market were to expand to the African continent, Morocco would have a chance of overcoming the problem of market narrowness. According to Belkhayat, companies should start locally and then expand to other countries, especially in the African market, because Europe is witnessing strong competition.
Belkhayat suggested that Morocco should apply the same approach that Saudi Arabia is following in its support for startups, so that these companies receive government support that contributes to their development and can also gain the trust of the private sector.
This is the model that Saudi Arabia has followed through its regional partnerships and its focus on emerging technologies, with initiatives such as Saudicorns, which foster an ecosystem of startups. For the time being, Morocco is already active in supporting startups, helping to mobilise the first funds and the first generation of these companies.
Digital Morocco 2030
Morocco is seeking to counteract the disadvantages by proposing concrete objectives in its Digital 2030 strategy. With regard to digital exports, the country aims to surpass the figure of 17.9 billion dirhams it recorded in 2023 to reach 40 billion dirhams by 2030. To achieve this growth, the country is driving the expansion of high-value sectors such as technology companies and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), which aligns perfectly with the more developed fields of the ‘unicorn club’ startups. Similarly, outsourcing revenues alone are expected to grow from 25 billion dirhams in 2026 to 40 billion dirhams in 2030.
Investment funds led by the Moroccan Digital Fund were established in 2010 and have helped lay the foundations for building the startup ecosystem. There are currently more than 15 local and foreign investment funds.
One of them is the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, which seeks to finance startups at all stages of their life, with a focus on different sectors including financial technology, education and health, contributing to a breakthrough in this market that at the beginning seemed far away.
Target: 3,000 startups by 2030
Official figures for the number of startups in Morocco are estimated at 380, and this number is expected to increase sevenfold by the end of the decade from around 1,000 startups in 2026 to 3,000 in 2030, including the creation of one or two ‘unicorns’, valued at over 1 billion euros, and 10 ‘gazelles’, valued at over half a million euros. This implies an increase in funding from 2 billion dirhams in 2022 to 7 billion dirhams in 2026.
Finally, it is a possibility that in the coming years the Moroccan startup market will multiply thanks to the government's initiatives in relation to technological development. This is an investment in Morocco's future, and not only in economic terms, as it would also generate jobs for young people and encourage foreign investment. Beyond being part of the ‘unicorn club’, the success of startups is a strategic necessity to position Morocco as a major player in Africa and globally.