Economy

Historically referred to as the land behind the beyond, or the land at the end of the world, Morocco has long capitalised on its location between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The kingdom has in recent years begun to try to position itself as a gateway to West Africa, strengthening bilateral ties with countries such as Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire, but there is a more...

As in other developing countries, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and very small businesses (VSBs) play an important role in Morocco’s economy. The head of the cooperation service at the National Agency for SME Promotion (Agence Nationale pour la Promotion des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises, ANPME), Houssam Fathi, told OBG that SMEs account for almost 95% of all...

Fiscal reform has long been a policy priority in Morocco, although with rural development, youth employment and trade balances also competing for attention, addressing the issue has always been rather tricky. While not revolutionary, the recently approved 2014 budget goes some way towards tackling a number of the more salient weaknesses in...