Since the opening of the first branch in Casablanca in 2001, the Technopark principle has been replicated in four other cities. Can you tell us more about this long journey?
We now have 23 years of experience in supporting startups in Morocco. We have just inaugurated our fifth Technopark in Essaouira, after Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Agadir. Three more cities will soon join the list: Fes, Oujda and Tiznit. In the beginning, we only offered a connected workspace, with special rates for startups. Today, we support them from start to finish, even accelerating programs dedicated to people with ideas. Throughout the year, we offer initiatives to facilitate their development in four areas: access to finance, access to the market and skills, i.e. recruitment, and networks of opportunities for greater visibility, such as connecting them with our customer mentors.
We are currently supporting 450 startups, almost a hundred of which are using artificial intelligence (AI) to work in different sectors: agriculture, for food security, an issue that affects all African countries, or access to healthcare for citizens. And then, of course, education and employability. All these issues are crucial for the African continent. I have several examples of startups with innovative solutions, particularly in the south, because Agadir is renowned for its agritech ecosystem...
Can you give examples of Moroccan startups that have made a name for themselves thanks to AI?
In Africa, we all have the same problem of water stress. It's even a global problem. But I can see how start-ups are managing to innovate. In Agadir, a region known for its agritech ecosystem, startups are using new technologies to predict the amount of water and fertilizer needed to produce quality products. I could mention PCS Agri, which uses algorithms, AI and IoT (Internet of Things) to better export Moroccan tomatoes and adapt them to customer requirements in terms of color and size. I believe this can be extended to berry crops and other plants. In terms of health, we have a very good company, Aba Technology, which helped the country a lot during the COVID pandemic. Thanks to AI and data, we were able to deliver vaccines to all of Morocco's provinces under ideal conditions, with a waste rate of less than 0.1%. And I think we were one of the few countries with a very low refusal rate for these vaccines. Today, this company is active in a number of areas, including agriculture, smart cities, which includes ecology, renewable energy and citizen services. Thanks to AI, this company is active in these sectors. Education is also important. It's an issue that affects all of us, and digital technology is an important lever for engaging young people. Today, we're able to design educational program based on the specific characteristics of the target population and its needs, which makes us more effective and efficient.
Now that the Digital Strategy 2030 has been unveiled, how much progress has Morocco made in adopting digital legislation?
We have a legislative package that is already operational, notably the law on the protection of personal data and the law on cybersecurity. We have done the opposite of Tunisia, which began with its startup law. We encouraged the creation of start-ups and then worked on our digital strategy. Morocco has made significant progress in involving all stakeholders. Our supervising ministry, the Ministry of Digital Transition, has done some really thorough work to develop this strategy, which takes into account the expectations of everyone, whether they are citizens, businesses or public administrations. More than 90% of the country is now connected. Of course, there are still problems with the digital divide. We'll work with our telecom operators to improve this.
What exactly will change for Technopark as part of this strategy?
For our part, we have had a new roadmap validated since December 2022. One of the main thrusts is regionalization, meaning ensuring technological development throughout the region. We're getting a lot of requests from young people who are very interested in digital technology. They want to be entrepreneurs and they need support mechanisms and the necessary infrastructure, professional spaces and tailored guidance.
If a start-up develops in a connected accelerator, on a daily basis, alongside another structure, it has a higher survival rate than one that develops in isolation. The growth rate is not the same.
Without prospects, many young people leave their region. We need to create value and benefit from their ideas by supporting them. It's a virtuous circle. As part of this new strategy, we have signed an agreement with our line ministry to set up special support programs for innovative startups. They are characterized by innovation or rapid growth. These include Boost Up Lab and Star (seed capital). We also have an accelerated program for startups at the end of their life cycle, as we cannot host a startup for more than five years. Out of the 450 companies we support, our aim is to bring out a hundred or so that really stand out.
You have signed an agreement with the Greater Marseille area. What does this mean in practice?
We work closely with the Marseille Innovation Accelerator. Together we have developed the Soft Landing Africa Connect program, and several Moroccan companies have taken advantage of this to open a branch in France. We've also supported diaspora partners through Meet Africa 2. We're really happy because the six start-ups between Morocco and Marseille are now developing. It's a real success story. Of course, we'll continue with other programs. Building bridges between Africa and Europe is very important today. Promoting this inter-Mediterranean cooperation is also very important; it creates diversity, enriches us and encourages us to respond effectively to global challenges.
How is Morocco preparing the younger generation for the AI revolution?
Our universities now have digital courses. Just recently, the Ministry of Digital Transition signed an agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education to create 144 technology courses and train young people. This is one of the four areas of our new roadmap that I mentioned earlier: creating greater synergies and links with universities and national agencies, but also signing partnerships with large companies to link university research with the business world. Today, we are in contact with the main universities in Morocco. Over the next three years, we will have trained 23,000 graduates, three times as many as a few years ago. And this is to keep up with all the emerging trends, AI, big data, cloud computing, virtual or augmented reality. We know that 80% of today's jobs will disappear in the next twenty years. So Morocco has anticipated this.