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The agriculture sector remains the main driver of economic growth, contributing 19% to GDP. The Green Morocco Plan, which was launched in 2008 and runs until 2020, is the national agricultural policy. The plan is responsible for generating sector growth as well as preparing for future challenges, such as food security, climate change and an increasingly competitive global market. Although the sector has seen positive performances in the 2018/19 season, there is still room for growth. There are two years left to complete the objectives of the plan, and further financing will be required to achieve these. Moreover, Morocco will need to position itself strategically to be able to endure the impact of climate change and unpredictable weather conditions, and ensure the agriculture sector’s resilience and continued growth, as well as the country’s food security. This chapter contains an interview Mohammed Fikrat, President, National Federation of Agribusiness, and CEO, Cosumar.

Morocco is amongst the best-developed tourism markets in Africa, benefitting from its close proximity to Europe, a wide variety of landscapes and attractions, year-round warm weather in parts of the country, and a more stable political and security environment than some of its regional competitors. The years since 2016 have seen healthy rises in tourism arrivals, though over the longer term growth has failed to meet the authorities’ targets, prompting work that is currently under way to revise the national strategy for the sector’s development. New transport infrastructure such as the high-speed train line linking Casablanca to Tangier launched in late 2018, and the development of new hotels in the high-end segment highlight the confidence in the sector felt by private developers and the government. Moreover, growth in local tourism and rising numbers of visitors from emerging source markets further underscores the broadly positive outlook and potential of the industry. This chapter contains interviews with Mohammed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Crafts and Social Economy; and Laila Mechbal, CEO, Air Arabia Maroc.

Economic growth, coupled with the liberalisation of the sector in the 1990s, has led to the expansion of Morocco’s ICT sector, which is also underpinned by high penetration levels, as well as policies conducive to the development of related services and their incorporation into everyday business activities. Meanwhile, a focus on e-government and the digitisation of the economy – along with improvements to mobile data services, which are playing an ever-greater role – are likely to lead to continuing positive performance. The mobile telecoms segment is the most dynamic in the industry, with mobile data services leading the way. Although it still lags behind telecoms in terms of dynamism, the IT sector will likely benefit from the implementation of the government’s Digital Morocco Plan 2020. By establishing a dedicated agency for IT development, Moroccan authorities have underlined the importance for the country’s future development of transitioning to a digital economy. However, for the strategy to succeed, efforts to bridge the digital divide and increase penetration must be kept on track. This chapter contains interviews with Saloua Karkri-Belkeziz, President, Federation of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Offshoring, and President, Gfi Africa; and Mehdi Alaoui, Founder and CEO, LaFactory, and Vice-president, Moroccan Federation of IT, Telecommunications and Offshoring.

Boasting a dynamic and diversified economy, the Fez-Meknes region contributed 9.4% to Morocco’s national GDP in 2018, fourth by economic output. Established in 2015 as one of 12 distinct administrative areas, Fez-Meknes covers an area of over 40,000 sq km and forms a crossroads between several prominent economic centres on the country’s coasts. The region, one of the country’s largest by population, output and consumption, has accordingly launched many projects to lift growth. It has identified the shortcomings it must tackle, as well as its existing strengths and those economic sectors with the most potential to add value to local economic activity. The region must address urban unemployment, rural poverty, illiteracy among women and economic precarity. It already has the resources to foster job creation, lift wages and build wealth, including fertile land, a rich cultural heritage and cities equipped with extensive industrial capacities. This chapter contains an interview with Rachid Aouine, Director, Regional Investment Centre of Fez-Meknes.

Growth in the construction sector is principally influenced by government investment and the implementation of infrastructure, energy and residential housing projects. Indeed, about 80% of turnover from the sector comes from public projects. After delays in public infrastructure projects in 2017, 2019 is looking bright for public investment in mega-projects. Meanwhile, the slew of foreign investment in the real estate sector in 2018 signals the high level of international confidence in the market, which is expected to remain strong in the years to come. Promising segments are luxury real estate and retail. To ensure inclusive growth within the sector, the government will continue to carry out its social housing programme through to 2020. This, together with increased private sector participation and the construction of middle-income units, is set to help curb the lodging deficit that has challenged the country for many years. This chapter contains an interview with Karim Beqqali, CEO, Yamed Capital.

Large public investment in Morocco’s physical infrastructure in recent years has contributed to the expansion of domestic transport and logistics. The construction of 1800 km of new expressways, expansion of the rail network, and development of logistics and industrial zones has led to a sharp increase in the number of active companies in transport and logistics. Currently, the sector directly contributes €3.6bn, or 4%, to the country’s GDP, and provides jobs to some 1m people. However, in order to secure growth going forward, more needs to be done to facilitate private investment, which remains low. Although the number of projects under way indicates that the kingdom’s transport sector will see strong growth over the coming years, there are various issues which could potentially impact its performance. This chapter contains an interview with Hartmut Goeritz, CEO, APM Terminals Tangier.