🦄 The complete guide to Moroccan startups in 2024: ecosystem, financing, specific tools, document templates, business plan, etc….
Introduction
Setting up a business in Morocco can be an exciting and rewarding adventure, but it can also be a complex undertaking.
With an ever-changing market and ever-changing regulations, it’s essential to understand the steps and requirements needed to launch a successful business in Morocco.
The startup ecosystem in Morocco is growing rapidly and is considered one of the most dynamic in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
The Moroccan government has launched several initiatives to support entrepreneurs and startups, including incubators, gas pedals, investment funds and free zones for startups.
In addition, several annual events are organized to promote entrepreneurship and startup development in Morocco, such as the Morocco Startup Cup, Morocco Demo Day and Startup Weekend.
Morocco has several incubators and gas pedals (the Startup Maroc network, Impact Lab, Bidaya, and StartUp Factory) that provide support for startups in terms of funding, mentoring, training and workspaces.
From developing a solid business plan to registering your company, we guide you through all the important steps to help you start your business with confidence.
In this article, we will review the key elements for setting up a business in Morocco in 2024, providing detailed and practical information to help entrepreneurs realize their investment project with peace of mind.
Steps to follow to launch your startup in Morocco
Step 1: Defining the project
- Key stage in setting up a business: Defining the project
- How do you define your business creation project?
- Factors to consider when defining your project
The first step in setting up a business is to clearly define your idea and draw up a solid project plan.
To do this, you need to ask yourself the right questions: what is the market you wish to target (this may be a geographical area, a category of players, a group of individuals with a predetermined age range)?
What is the product or service you want to offer (it’s important to be more or less precise about the nature of the goods or services you want to develop)?
What is your value proposition (it’s important to stand out from potential competitors)?
What is your marketing and sales strategy (your strategy may evolve over time, but it’s important to have a clear vision of the approaches you’ll need to adopt to succeed in your target market)?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to draw up a complete business plan, including a detailed description of your project, a market analysis, a study of the competition, a marketing and financial strategy, and an action plan for launching and developing your business.
Step 2: Conduct market research
- Importance of market research for business start-ups
- How to conduct market research
- The tools you need to conduct market research
Before setting up your business in Morocco, it’s important to carry out a market study to assess the feasibility of your project and identify the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
This step will give you a better understanding of your target market, industry trends and consumer needs.
You’ll also need to draw up a detailed business plan that includes a description of your company, your products or services, your marketing strategy, your business model, your organizational structure and your financial projections.
Step 3: Draw up a business plan
- The importance of a business plan for setting up a company
- Elements to include in a business plan
- Mistakes to avoid when writing a business plan
The business plan is a document that describes your entrepreneurial project in detail.
It contains information on your market, your competitors, your products or services, your marketing plan, your financial objectives, etc.
To write a solid business plan, you’ll need to carry out thorough research to understand your market and target audience.
You’ll also need to define your business model and provide realistic financial projections.
In addition, you’ll need to highlight your unique value proposition and explain why your business is likely to succeed.
A well-crafted business plan is essential for convincing potential investors and securing financing for your company.
It will also help you clarify your vision for your business and focus on the key steps to make it work.
When writing your business plan, you should avoid making the following mistakes:
- Keeping surreal figures and forecasts in mind
- ignore market research
- do not include expenses
- fail to update your business plan
- neglecting your project objectives
- not rereading
- minimize its financing.
Step 4: Choosing the legal status of your company
- Legal status in Morocco
- Criteria to consider when choosing a legal status
- The steps involved in setting up a company, depending on the legal status chosen
Once you’ve defined your project and assessed its feasibility, you need to choose the legal form best suited to your business.
In Morocco, there are several types of legal structure for businesses, each with its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of taxation, managerial liability, set-up formalities and management.
Here is an overview of the main legal forms of business in Morocco:
- Sole proprietorship (EI): this is the simplest and most common form of sole proprietorship.
It offers flexible, low-cost management, but the manager is liable for his or her personal assets. - The limited liability company (SARL): this limits partners’ liability to their capital contributions, and is therefore ideal for projects requiring larger investments.
It is often the preferred choice for small and medium-sized businesses. - Public limited company (SA): suitable for large-scale, capital-intensive projects, but more complex and costly to set up and manage.
Shareholders’ liability is limited to their capital contributions. - Simplified joint-stock company (SAS): replaces the simplified joint-stock company (société anonyme simplifiée).
It is governed by provisions that are legally more flexible and more appropriate to the investment environment in Morocco, while guaranteeing limited liability for shareholders.
It’s important to choose the legal form best suited to your project, taking into account your needs in terms of financing, liability, flexibility and administrative formalities.
To find out more, read our article on how to set up a start-up in Morocco.
You can also consult the following article on choosing the legal form of your company.
