Reports (3)
Thanks to Digital Technologies, Morocco Has Better Managed Covid19 Pandemic (Oxford Business Group)
17 May 2021 Written by Admin AdminThanks to digital technologies, Morocco was able to better manage the health crisis related to the Covid-19 pandemic, says the London-based business intelligence firm "Oxford Business Group" (OBG).
In a report dedicated to digital transformation in Morocco in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Oxford Business Group analyzes the impact of technology on Moroccan society and economy, showing how the use of these technologies has enabled the Kingdom to best weather the crisis, offering avenues for future development through accelerated digital transformation.
According to the report, the Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated the need for increased digitization, but Morocco did not wait until 2020 to begin its digital transformation. This transformation, which started a decade ago, has been accelerated by major government initiatives, including "Horizon 2020", launched in 2017, and "Horizon 2025", which have set ambitious targets for e-government and training young people in new technologies.
According to OBG, these efforts had already borne fruit in early 2020, when Morocco was ranked fourth among the MENA countries in the European Center for Digital Competitiveness.
For the authors of the report, while Morocco already enjoyed relatively high internet and mobile penetration rates, the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred technological innovation in many sectors, whether in finance, agriculture, or education, noting that confinement has boosted e-commerce and that the habit of contactless payment now seems to be well established among the population.
As a result, online payments grew 31.3% in the first half of 2020, compared to the same period last year, according to the report.
In response to the pandemic, OBG adds, the public and private sectors put in place a series of measures that maintained productivity while respecting social distance.
source: mapnews
A new study has determined that Morocco is the second-fastest in “digital transformation,” in Africa ranking only behind South Africa.
Morocco’s National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) released a report of its recent findings. The study, titled “Scientific Production Relative to Digital Transformation: Scopus and WOS (2015-2020),” concluded that Morocco’s digital transformation is performing well relative to its regional partners.
Morocco ranks second in Africa behind South Africa, and third in the Arab-speaking world behind the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Morocco managed to integrate digital technology into its economy at a fast pace over the five-year span researched in the study, with particular advances in the fields of engineering, telecommunications, and business.
Morocco’s digital transformation efforts involved several international partners, including Canada, Denmark, France, and Spain.
The study aimed to provide a better picture of Morocco’s digitalization of its scientific efforts and produced a ranking to determine Morocco’s progress on the matter.
Morocco is investing heavily in its scientific community that features renowned international experts such as engineers Rachid Yazami and enthusiastic science communicator Hajar Mousannif.
Morocco appears to be preparing itself for a new scientific era with a new generation of young Moroccan scientists and the latest technology, such as Africa’s most powerful supercomputer.
That supercomputer alone will help boost digital transformation according to Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. Its press release announced the new supercomputer could “solve African research problems in both academia and industry and create the next generation of computational scientists and digital entrepreneurs.”
“Research related to digital transformation is relatively recent and topical,” the bibliometric study emphasized as the Watch Department of the CNRST aied to study the evolution on the topic of digital transformation.
source: moroccoworld news
Morocco Ranks 39th in 2019 International Franchise Attractiveness Index
30 Aug 2019 Written by Admin AdminMorocco has positioned itself as a top-tier destination for several international firms in various sectors, including energy, tourism, and aeronautics.
The 2019 International Franchise Attractiveness Index ranked Morocco 39 with a significant score of 54. With a list of 131 states, the index listed Morocco as the first attractive business hub in Africa and the 2nd in MENA after the UAE.
Morocco jumped up three places since 2018 when the annual report placed Morocco at 41 with a score of 54.53.
The list shows Morocco competing with some of the international powers, including France, Spain, Germany, and Australia.
Germany is the first on the list with a score of 25.50, followed by the UK with a score of 26.08, and Canada with a score of 29.58.
Saudi Arabia ranks 42nd on the list with a score of 55.15, while Qatar positioned itself at 59th.
Egypt was listed 51st with a score of 60.53 ahead of Kenya, and South Africa with 54 and 55, respectively.
Tunisia is the 77th on the list.
The index listed Algeria as the 66th with a score of 69.53, Nigeria 81st, and Senegal as 82nd.
Researchers at the Rosenberg International Franchise Center (RIFC) develop the index by taking into account the attractiveness of 131 counties as “international expansion markets” for US-based franchises.
“This index is generated through a quantitative model that is based on peer-reviewed research and a survey of franchise executives.
The model produces two different index rankings (Balanced Growth and Aggressive Growth) based on a company’s risk tolerance levels,” according to the University of New Hampshire (UNH).
Morocco’s location works as a pillar to attract international investors. The 2019 Investment Climate Statements from the US Department of State said in July that Morocco’s political stability, geographical location, and efforts to build a robust infrastructure, contribute “to its emergence as a regional manufacturing and export base for companies.”
The report also recalled Morocco’s strategy for attracting investors, with several measures in place, including facilitating foreign investment.
The report said that the facilitation is especially relevant in “export sectors like manufacturing, through macro-economic policies, trade liberalization, investment incentives, and structural reforms.”
The report also indicates that Morocco attracts the fifth-most foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa, with an intention to position itself as a regional business hub due to its status and location and the “tri-regional focal point of sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.”
source: moroccoworldnews
