Country Portfolio Morocco
CFYE launched the first Call for Solutions in Morocco in 2022 to co-invest in innovative private sector-led initiatives that create, improve, or match decent work for youth in Morocco, focusing on women in particular. The below portfolio represents the winners of the first and second (launched in 2023) Call of Solutions. Our Country Lead for Morocco is Farah Fawzi.
Morocco’s Job Market & Youth
Morocco has demonstrated its reliability as a hub for manufacturing. With a country of 36.5 million, its geographical location has proved beneficial for serving markets across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East in a timely and cost-effective manner. With this strong foundation, the government has attempted to expedite economic growth throughout the years by committing to sustained reforms to modernize the economy and reduce dependence on the agricultural sector. However, the private sector’s growth has not kept pace with the labour supply. Indeed, the working-age population has been growing on average by roughly 400,000 annually, while only 140,000 new jobs are created every year.
A low-skilled yet consistently growing workforce, a lack of job creation, and a weak entrepreneurial culture have led to sluggish growth and serve as major impediments which prevent Morocco from reaching its full economic potential.
This occurrence of low job demand and a gap in the necessary skills required for employment gives rise to alarming unemployment figures; in urban areas, youth unemployment is close to 40%. In rural areas, these figures are significantly lower at 11.3%, where employment for youth is comprised of informal jobs predominantly in the agricultural sector. Over half of urban women remain unemployed (50.9%). Paradoxically, these figures are higher still for women with graduate degrees, signifying a lack of support structures along with conservative norms regarding women’s employment.
Educational institutions and vocational training programs often produce mixed outcomes. New labor market entrants are ill-equipped to handle both, the technical and soft skills required for the jobs available.
There are four major challenges to youth employment in Morocco: low job creation, lack of inclusion, skills mismatch and poor quality of jobs. Action is needed to stimulate economic growth, tackle the skills mismatch in the labour market, address the exclusion of women and youth from the labor force and improve the decency of existing jobs.
Our Impact
Our Portfolio in Morocco
Based on Moroccan youth’s ambitions and the current needs of the employment market, we developed a portfolio that prioritizes jobs in manufacturing and ICT-enabled sectors. The first and second Call for solutions will surpass 5.000. Approximately 1.400 of these projected jobs will be new jobs, while the rest will be realized by matching youth to relevant jobs or improving the conditions of existing jobs to achieve decency in work.
Over 62 % of the total planned jobs (around 2.300 jobs) will be targeted and catered to young women.
CFYE’s Moroccan portfolio reflects the ambitions of the country’s youth and its employment market by focusing on high potential sectors such as agtech, digital services, offshoring, circular and manufacturing economy. Our partners operate in across diverse fields, ranging from technology enabled agriculture and digital platforms to business process outsourcing, sustainable manufacturing and industrial services. Together, they aim to equip young people with relevant technical skills while promoting innovative, market driven solutions to address youth unemployment and support Morocco’s transition towards a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable economy.
With CFYE’s investment, Station A will be able to develop a hyperlocal entrepreneurial ecosystem in various regions in Morocco. Through an innovative and high-impact marketplace, Station A seeks to connect, empower and mobilise a community of self-employed and very small businesses, fostering collaboration and creating opportunities that support and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
SOWIT has combined forces with several national and international organisations to empower youth by equipping them with the digital and technical skills in the agtech sector. Through its technology-driven solutions for irrigation management and climate smart agricultures, the project supports the growth of innovative agribusiness while strengthening productivity and sustainability in farming. With CYFE’s support, SOWIT will scale its activities, enabling business expansion and contributing to increased job creation that is tailored to youth and women’s needs in this sector.
Intelcia is expanding its operations in Morocco with the support of CFYE to strengthen its role in offshoring and digital services sector. By upgrading its facilities and workspaces in Meknes and Oujda, the project aims to improve productivity, service quality and employee well-being.
La Startup Station aims to strengthen its impact by promoting both greater youth and gender inclusion in high-level digital jobs. Through CFYE’s technical assistance and support, the project will develop a more effective outreach strategy to engage women and youth in capacity building and job placement activities. This approach will help improve access to skills development and employment and employment opportunities, contributing to more inclusive participation in the wider local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
CFYE’s support will contribute to the implementation and expansion of MCF’s project by stimulating economic growth and strengthening the circular and copper-based manufacturing in the region of Youssoufia. The project supports the creation of jobs in a region with high unemployment rate as well as the establishment of legal structures that enables women currently operating informally in the sector, to access formal employment, safe working conditions and structured capacity-building opportunities. By formalising their activities and improving productivity, the project aims to enhance livelihoods and provide more stable income to local women and their families.
A-Excellence and its consortium partners aims to develop a pilot programme designed to become a scalable model for youth employment in Morocco. The project seeks to engage both private sector companies and other stakeholders to ensure strong institutional support and alignment with labour market needs. With CFYE’s expertise and technical support, the project will be strengthened for effective implementation and future scale-up. CFYE’s visibility and credibility will also help connect the initiative with key decision-makers as well as reaching more young people and generate lasting improvement in the employment opportunities in the digital and technology sectors.
Ideo Factory aims to deliver a tailored training programme developed with HR experts to prepare young people for careers within the growing offshoring and digital services sector. Ideo Factory will partner with Outsourcia to train youth participant in essential professional skills, ethics and workplace behaviour with a strong focus on the competencies most in demand by employers. By strengthening their employability and aligning their profiles with labour market needs, the project aims to facilitate smoother school-to-work transitions and expand access to sustainable employment opportunities.
CFYE’s grant and technical assistance are central to the success and sustainability of the Green Code project. Through financial support, strategic guidance and technical expertise, CFYE will help strengthen activities that promote youth employment in the digital and green economy. The project focuses on improving the attraction, recruitment and retention of young talents while expanding access to decent work opportunities, generating stronger and more lasting social impact for the NEETs.