Eléments de préparation de

l’intervention de SE M. le
ministre dans le cadre du
Jour 2
Panel ministériel.

Day 2-Session 3: A Policy Declaration to Create Jobs by

Promoting Entrepreneurship and the Growth of
MSMEs.
The political manifesto examines the challenges countries face in creating enough jobs to reduce the
unemployment rate and increase the labor market participation rate. The document indicates that these
jobs will have to come from new entrepreneurs and VSMEs (Very Small and Medium Enterprises). What
do you think about this and the importance of policies and programs that will train entrepreneurs and
VSMEs?

Due to major social, economic and political changes, the jobs of tomorrow will be different both in terms
of the nature of the job and in terms of the way of working. Covid 19, the evolution of NICTs (new
information and communication technologies) and other geopolitical events have brought structural
changes to the labor market. We are moving towards new paths of employability driven by personal
initiative, or by strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of VSMEs leading to the creation of
more stable and sustainable employments with regard to their current contribution. You know, referring
to the latest available data from the Moroccan VSME observatory, very small and medium-sized
enterprises represent 99.4% of our economic fabric in number. These units include more than 85.8% of
micro-enterprises (the sales not exceeding 3 million dirhams). Their contribution in terms of total income
is 36.7%. They employ nearly 73% of the declared workforce and are therefore the main job providers in
Morocco. Of course, this finding will be even more accentuated if we also take into consideration the
indicators that concern units that operate in the informal sector.
Therefore, policies and programs that support entrepreneurs and VSMEs are of great importance. In
particular, they carry a societal ambition. It is first of all a Royal vision expressed for several years by
His Majesty King Mohammed VI that Allah assist him to make our country a nation of entrepreneurial
opportunities for all. It is also one of the main recommendations of the national report on the New
Development Model, which evokes the entrepreneurial and inclusive State supported by a productive
and diversified economy that creates value and quality jobs, an economy supported by a dense fabric of
innovative and resilient companies. This presupposes a human capital reinforced in capacities to give all
citizens the chance to take charge of their future, to realize their potential in complete autonomy, and
this mainly through participation and equal access to economic opportunities.

The territory is considered in this diagram as a place of development, anchoring and expression of
public policies.

For several years, the Moroccan State has become aware of the role of entrepreneurship and VSMEs in
resilience and economic growth.

The manifesto talks about the need to put employment at the center of development policies: focus on
employment and growth will follow, or focus on growth and jobs will follow? What are your views?

Employment is already at the center of our public policies, both as a goal and also as a means. This
importance is inferred from a leitmotif of the High Royal Orientations, namely, putting people at the heart
of public policies. The government program insisted on the centrality of employment as a lever for
inclusion. Moreover, the role assigned to the MIEPEEC is precisely to design coordination and
convergence in this direction in relation to its new architecture and in relation to its new areas of
responsibility. For example, from the first weeks of the installation of the new government in October
2021, several emergency programs focusing on employment were launched, such as the AWRACH
program which targets the employability of 250,000 beneficiaries. , or the FORSA program which targets
10,000 business creations. It should also be noted that the government program has provided for some
concrete objectives, such as the creation of at least 1 million net jobs with the increase in the activity
rate of women to more than 30% instead of 20%. Furthermore, the investment charter project is also
focused on employment through various sectoral measures. To answer the question, yes, we firmly
believe that economic inclusion through employment is becoming the central paradigm of state
strategies and public policies.