Technopark, a key pillar of Morocco’s technology ecosystem, has announced a new ten-year strategy aimed at decentralizing innovation and tackling the country’s internal tech talent migration. Lamia Benmakhlouf, Director of the Technopark network, detailed plans to expand into remote and isolated regions to ensure that opportunities are accessible to innovators across the nation, not just in central hubs like Casablanca and Rabat.
Quick Facts
- New 10-year national expansion plan.
- Targets tech talent in isolated regions.
- Aims to reverse internal brain drain.
Addressing the “Two-Speed Morocco”
Benmakhlouf highlighted a critical challenge facing the nation, often described as a “two-speed Morocco.” The current dynamic sees many talented graduates from remote areas forced to relocate to major cities for work, stripping their home regions of valuable human capital and development opportunities.
“What happens is that many of these young people, after obtaining their degrees in isolated areas, have to move to Casablanca or Rabat to find work, which deprives their regions of development opportunities,” Benmakhlouf explained in an interview with Next Wave.
The new strategy directly confronts this issue. “These young people are the ones we must accompany and support, and we must go to them where they are, in the framework of equal opportunities,” she stated. The vision is to provide entrepreneurs in towns like Midelt with the same level of support and resources available in Casablanca, enabling them to build companies, create jobs, and generate economic value locally.
A New Strategy for Regional Growth
To achieve this, Technopark is adopting a new regional expansion strategy that hinges on collaboration with local and national authorities. This approach aligns with new integrated territorial development programs focused on creating effective support mechanisms for job creation.
“Today… there is a trend towards strengthening cooperation and integration between local and national actors to create effective support mechanisms capable of creating jobs,” Benmakhlouf noted. “In reality, you cannot create jobs without creating companies. And of course, we are talking about companies capable of surviving and growing in the long term.”
The focus is not just on launching businesses, but on building sustainable ventures that contribute to the long-term economic health of their home regions through job creation and tax revenue.
Redefining “Startup” in the Moroccan Context
Benmakhlouf also offered a crucial clarification on the terminology used within the ecosystem, suggesting that “tech company” is often a more accurate term than “startup.”
She explained that a large number of digital businesses are very small enterprises that use technology to improve an existing sector, such as e-commerce platforms digitizing traditional commerce. In contrast, a true startup is more deeply rooted in technological innovation, producing the technology itself and aiming for rapid, scalable growth.
According to Benmakhlouf, startups in the latter sense constitute only about 30% of the companies supported by Technopark. The remaining 70% are very small digital enterprises. However, she emphasized that this is not a fixed status. “It is possible for the latter to transform into a startup over time… We have already seen many cases of e-commerce platforms that later transformed into fintech companies.”
About Technopark
Technopark is a Moroccan network of technology business incubators that provides support, mentorship, and resources to startups and tech companies. With multiple locations across Morocco, it plays a central role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship within the country’s digital economy.
Source: Madar21
