Morocco: From Gateway to Innovation Hub

Morocco has long been known as the “gateway” between Europe and Africa, thanks to its advantageous geographical location at the crossroads of seas and continents. Initially, the country leveraged its position to become a hub for low-cost labor and international manufacturing, making significant economic gains. Recently, however, Morocco has shifted from low-value-added goods and services to emerge as a regional leader in clean energy development and deployment, signaling a move towards a more diversified economy.

Innovation and Technology Agenda

Central to this economic diversification is Morocco’s focus on innovation and technology. For many years, the country has prioritized these areas to transition from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy. This effort began with the National Innovation Strategy in 2009 and continues with the updated National Strategy for the Development of Scientific Research through 2025. Morocco has also launched several initiatives to foster a favorable environment for innovation, research, and technology transfer.

New Development Model

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranked Morocco 77th out of 132 economies in its 2021 Global Innovation Index, noting strong performance in innovation outputs, especially in knowledge and technology, but highlighting weaknesses in human capital and research.

For many years, Morocco has expressed its ambition to become a frontrunner in the region in science, technology, and innovation. This vision was further solidified with the unveiling of the New Development Model in spring 2021, which laid out steps to make Morocco a nation of opportunity, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The model emphasizes the crucial role of universities in creating a future-ready skilled workforce .

Digital Infrastructure

Morocco’s commitment to improving its digital infrastructure is another key component of its strategy. As of January 2021, nearly 74% of the population had internet access, a significant increase from the previous year, making Morocco the most advanced market in Africa in terms of connectivity. In 2021, the country ranked 84th globally and 6th in Africa in the Digital Quality Index, and 45th out of 230 countries for mobile data affordability. Recognizing the importance of digital infrastructure for Industry 4.0, Morocco established the Agency of Digital Development (ADD) to oversee its digital strategy and promote the adoption of digital tools across sectors .

In May 2019, ADD launched the AL-KHAWARIZMI program to support AI research with a budget of 50 million Moroccan dirhams ($5.6 million). This program underscores Morocco’s commitment to advancing AI education and research, supported by entities such as MoroccoAI, a network of Moroccan AI experts, and the Moroccan International Centre for Artificial Intelligence at Mohammed VI Polytechnique University (UM6P). These efforts have positioned Morocco as a leading player in Industry 4.0, with 31 tech hubs as of Q3 2019, making it second in North Africa .

Research and Development (R&D)

Investment and Focus Areas

Investment in research and development (R&D) has also seen a significant boost. In 2017, Morocco invested 0.8% of its GDP in research and development (R&D), a significant increase from the 0.34% spent in 2016. However, this is still below the 2.3% average recorded in OECD countries. The latest statistics on budgetary allocation among R&D entities show that higher education institutions are the top recipients, receiving about 45% of the total budget. Public research institutions follow with 23%, and the remainder is allocated to the private sector and international cooperation. These figures highlight Morocco’s emphasis on universities playing a crucial role in the technology transfer ecosystem.

Funding Mechanisms

Despite the numerous institutions involved in R&D, there is no single entity overseeing overall financing. Instead, several funds have emerged to support research in priority sectors such as mining, agriculture, and clean energy. These funds are administered through tenders or open calls for research and innovation projects in thematic areas of interest to the funding entity. The CNRST remains the primary entity involved in most initiatives, aligning with its mission to be a dynamic actor and facilitator in R&D, participating in implementation, evaluation, and follow-up stages.

Technology transfer in Morocco is predominantly inward, facilitated by bilateral and multilateral agreements to enhance knowledge exchange and strengthen capabilities in key sectors. Prominent research centers like IRESEN and OCP’s R&D centers have increased their presence in Moroccan universities to accelerate knowledge transfer. At the firm level, technology transfer is led by multinational companies, while Moroccan companies, primarily MSMEs, have low R&D expenditure.

Technology Transfer

Despite the numerous initiatives undertaken by Morocco to promote technology transfer, current efforts remain riddled with challenges. today , strategic plans are underway to correct the path and solve a number of issues. From the perspective of a research institution, commercialising and promoting research outputs is difficult not only due to lack of resources, but also researchers lack of understanding regarding the commercial value of their work. Bridging the proverbial “Valley of Death” had been difficult due to the industry’s lack of absorption capacity, compounded by the difference in cultures between academia and their respective industries.

Bridging this gap in culture is particularly important as universities file the highest number of patents in the country, but rarely succeed in commercializing them, a task that is often assigned to technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). The most notable examples of TTOs in the country were highlighted in the previous section, but such structures remain scarce and lack the substantial skills, expertise, and means required to play an active role in assisting universities in commercialisation. 

Overall, the absence of comprehensive national indicators and monitoring systems complicates the assessment of technology transfer activities. However, Morocco’s strategic plans aim to address these challenges and enhance the efficiency of existing mechanisms and data used for policy design.

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References

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