Casablanca, August 22, 2026 — The Europe Today: Morocco has ranked 34th among 50 countries in Expothon Worldwide’s 2026 SME Index, placing fourth among Arab countries and fifth among African countries as the Kingdom continues efforts to strengthen its small and medium-sized enterprise sector.
Morocco ranked just behind the United Arab Emirates in 33rd place and ahead of Algeria in 35th. Saudi Arabia ranked 25th, while Egypt was the highest-ranked Arab and African country at 14th, followed by Nigeria at 19th, South Africa at 26th and Kenya at 30th. Among North African countries included in the index, Morocco ranked second behind Egypt.
According to the index, Morocco has an estimated 1.5 million SMEs, including around 300,000 businesses classified as high-potential enterprises. The report estimates that mobilizing 60,000 SMEs could potentially contribute an additional $22 billion (MAD 203.5 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product. The publication, however, cautioned that these figures are estimates produced for the index and should not be considered official government statistics or GDP forecasts.
The ranking comes amid continued government efforts to expand support for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises. In November 2025, Morocco introduced a new investment-support mechanism covering permanent job creation, regional investment and priority economic activities, with combined assistance reaching up to 30 percent of eligible investment.
By January 2026, 89 investment projects had been approved under the mechanism, representing more than MAD 1.28 billion ($128.3 million) in investment and expected to create approximately 5,000 jobs.
Maroc PME has also adopted a 2025–2030 development plan focused on enhancing competitiveness, strengthening business support and expanding regional coverage. In April 2026, it launched the PACTE TPME program aimed at supporting the growth and transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Morocco has simultaneously taken measures to simplify company formation through digitalization. A national electronic platform for company creation was launched in March 2025, and more than 12,000 companies had been established electronically through the platform since its introduction.
The pace of business creation has also increased, with 56,572 new company registrations recorded during the first half of 2025, representing a 17.7 percent increase compared with the same period of the previous year.
The government has further set a target of supporting the internationalization of 600 Moroccan companies between 2025 and 2027, including 400 companies undertaking exports for the first time.
The latest SME Index ranking reflects Morocco’s continued efforts to strengthen entrepreneurship, expand investment opportunities, promote job creation and enhance the competitiveness and international reach of its small and medium-sized business sector.
