Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima: TDC is the opportunity for anyone with entrepreneurial fiber
As part of the mission of the Regional Investment Centre (CRI) of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region to simplify processes and ensure proximity through a single interlocutor to ensure the development and promotion of investment in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, the CRI itself has launched the second edition of the Territory Development Challenge (TDC) as a collective initiative for emerging territories.
This is an annual innovation competition aimed at innovative projects mainly related to the challenges of attracting investment to the region. Through this call for regional, national and international innovation launched digitally, the CRI contributes to finding innovative solutions to the region's problems and challenges in different economic sectors.
Main objectives
Identifying and attracting talent to the region, cultivating and stimulating the culture of innovation and community collaboration, accompanying entrepreneurs and project idea holders, providing solutions and creative ideas to the region's ecosystem, highlighting investment and business opportunities and opening up to the national and international ecosystem are the main objectives of the TDC competition.
Participants in the webinar shed light on the importance of the region being the 2nd national pole of industry, with the first logistics platform in Morocco and in Africa, the first producer of vehicles in Morocco, and the region hosting the world's fourth port in terms of performance with six industrial acceleration zones.
Through eight provinces and prefectures, the TTA region is distinguished by a considerable diversity in terms of industrial fabric and has a large-scale infrastructure that welcomes the promising sectors of the region.
The CRI provides all investors with comprehensive and exhaustive support thanks to its role as a single, efficient interlocutor, facilitating procedures and accompanying project holders in their exploration of the opportunities offered by the region.
The Regional Investment Centre provides anyone interested in investing in the region with a series of useful guides and brochures to guide them in their business venture in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, in addition to a bank of projects easily accessible virtually, available in four languages: Arabic, French, Spanish and English.
It should be recalled that in the first edition of the Territory Development Challenge, 232 projects of 20 nationalities have participated to win three major prizes (1,500 euros, 1,000 euros and 7,000 euros respectively), in addition to the jury's prize estimated at 5,000 euros.
Different categories
Given that 2023 is a year of great challenges, the CRI has set the sectors of interest in six categories: territorial animation and public spaces, the sports industry, ecotourism, the green economy, the blue economy, industry and logistics.
The objective of the support for territorial animation and public spaces is to promote culture as a vector of social and economic development through private investments generating employment, as well as to dynamise the available spaces through innovative project ideas and to contribute to the promotion of culture and tourism for both the local population and tourists.
Supporting investment in the blue economy sector aims, for its part, to improve the standard of living of the population, to enhance lakes and rivers and to enhance the value of fishery products by promoting new activities (fishing-tourism, aquatic activities, recreation, etc.) in order to increase the sector's contribution to GDP.
To ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the emphasis on the green economy is paramount to reinforce the attractiveness of the region as a sustainable living space. This is done through encouraging new investment projects in renewable energies and stimulating the creation of projects focused on the circular economy and waste recycling.
In line with the real vision for the period 2022-2026 which aims to mobilise 550 billion DH in investments and the creation of 500,000 jobs, the industry and logistics sector plays a crucial role in the realisation of this ambition, through the development of modern and innovative industrial structures.
In this sense, it is imperative for the CRI of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima to support SMEs in their technological transition, to strengthen international connectivity by taking advantage of the strategic position of the region, and to encourage innovation and operational excellence in industry.
Along the same lines as industry, sport represents a real opportunity for business and sustainable job creation. This is why the sports industry axis aims to promote the talents of the region's young people, to encourage social innovation projects, and to create economic activities of permanent animation around sport, e-sport and virtual sport.
Given the tourism potential of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, which lies in its geographical diversity, cultural richness, and beautiful landscapes, promoting the ecotourism sector has become one of the keys to the regional economy.
The aim of including this axis is to boost eco-design, promote winter tourism, integrate new digital technologies for the promotion of ecotourism and preserve the fauna and flora of the region.
