Akhannouch: The ‘Digital Morocco 2030’ strategy, a major focus for employment

The implementation of the “Digital Morocco 2030” strategy is one of the major axes of the government roadmap for the promotion of employment, indicated Wednesday in Rabat the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch.

In an inaugural speech via videoconference on the occasion of the official launch of this strategy, Mr. Akhannouch stressed that digitalization opens up broad employment prospects, particularly for young people who are neither in employment, education or training (NEET).

Praising the efforts made by the various national stakeholders in the development of the aforementioned roadmap, the head of government specified that this strategy was the subject of broad consultation, noting that the Executive ensured to involve the main stakeholders in the digital field to study its content, whether public administrations, professional associations, training institutes, the private sector or even civil society.

In this regard, he recalled the holding of two meetings of the National Commission for Digital Development, during which a joint version of the general guidelines of the Maroc digital 2030 strategy was adopted.

Through this strategy, with a budget of 11 billion dirhams (MMDH) for the period 2024-2026, the government aims to train 100,000 young people each year in the digital field, compared to 14,000 in 2022, and to create 240,000 jobs in the public digital sector.

In order to breathe new life into the job market through the digital economy, this strategy relies on several levers and mechanisms, including the promotion of outsourcing and digital export, the strengthening of startups through a legal framework capable of stimulating their international growth and supporting their access to public markets, in addition to the adoption of appropriate financing mechanisms to support project leaders throughout the company’s life cycle.

Achieving the goal of employment in the digital field depends on Morocco’s ability to ensure qualitative and quantitative training of talents and skills, he noted. In this regard, the government has ensured to increase the number of graduates of Moroccan public universities in digital specialties from 2023, with a view to tripling it in 2027, he said.

The Kingdom has signed agreements with several multinational companies pioneering in the fields of digital, research and innovation with a view to accelerating digital transformation and consolidating local human capital, recalled the head of government.

This strategy aims to achieve other goals, particularly the digitalization of the administration in order to facilitate access to public services for citizens and businesses, the strengthening of transparency and the effective fight against corruption, he said.

In this regard, he said, the government aims to raise Morocco to first position in Africa and 50th worldwide in terms of digital administration.

According to Mr. Akhannouch, the “Digital Morocco 2030” strategy aims to prioritize the digitalization of sectors considered by citizens as priorities, including health and social protection, investment as well as education and employment.

This strategy also aims to consolidate the attributions of the Moroccan Agency for Digital Development (ADD) to improve support for the digitalization of administrations, to unify administrative procedures through a single portal integrating digital services in their different stages, to support the economy and employment in digital matters and to facilitate access to administrative services, he continued.

The strategy also relies on a diversified cloud service, designed with respect for national sovereignty, meeting international standards and able to serve the needs of the public and private sectors. It also relies on improving the internet and telecommunications network in order to promote the extension of the network in the rural world and the launch of the fifth generation (5G).

He reiterated the government’s determination to continue implementing the various measures planned as part of the roadmap of this strategy, so that the Kingdom can fully access the digital era and take full advantage of its great potential for digital innovation. For her part, the Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, Ghita Mezzour, described the launch of the national strategy “Maroc Digital 2030” as important and bold, noting that this strategy mainly aims to improve the digitalization of public services, bring them closer to citizens and reduce the processing time for requests.

This strategy, she continued, also aims at developing Morocco’s digital economy with the aim of creating nearly 240,000 direct jobs for young people in various sectors, and training young people in the digital field, in universities or elsewhere, in addition to the requalification of 100,000 young people per year by 2030.

It also aims to develop cloud services and generalize internet coverage across the entire national territory, particularly via G5 mobile telephony and optical fiber.

In her presentation of the strategy, Ms. Mezzour affirmed that “the success of such a project requires the effective contribution of all stakeholders during its implementation in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, while meeting the expectations of citizens”, adding that it aspires to make Morocco a regional digital hub, capable of stimulating the economic and social development of the Kingdom.

This national strategy aims, according to the minister, to improve digital public services to facilitate the daily lives of both citizens and businesses, by implementing simplified processes for stakeholders, in urban and rural areas. The objective is to improve the performance of the Moroccan administration and raise it to the top of the world ranking.

Referring to the development of the digital economy as a whole, Ms. Mezzour explained that the strategy is based on the relocation of services, the export of digital solutions, the digital transformation of startups and their support to accompany the dynamics of digital transformation.

According to Ms. Mezzour, “Maroc Digital 2030” is based on three key factors to promote the acceleration of digitalization in the Kingdom. These are support for digital talents, the modernization of digital telecommunications infrastructures and the provision of cloud or IT services.

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