Listening to Mehdi Alaoui, founder and CEO of LaStartupStation and a business angel, describe the path to Morocco’s first unicorns, one conclusion keeps coming back: the potential is there, the talent is there, but the legal framework is missing. A unicorn, he reminds us, is a startup valued at more than one billion dollars, capable of creating tens of thousands of jobs and carrying real weight in the economy. Moroccan entrepreneurs have already built some from abroad. From within the national territory, scaling up remains held back.
The issue is not new. It has been on the table for years in discussions between professional federations, the ministry and ecosystem players. The Maroc Digital 2030 strategy explicitly aims to grow the number of startups from a few hundred to 3,000 by 2030, to scale up fundraising and to bring forth gazelles, then one or two unicorns.
It provides for a “Startup Policy” with a label and internationalization measures. Yet as of November 2026, no text creating a general legal status for startups has been adopted. Innovative companies still operate under common law (SARL, SAS, sole proprietorship), with sector-specific tools such as the Jeune Entreprise Innovante (JEI) label, which mainly unlocks foreign-exchange facilities without amounting to a unified framework comparable to the African Startup Acts.
Why a legal definition changes everything
Alaoui is clear: without a definition, no public institution can legitimately create targeted benefits. A startup cannot be distinguished from a very small business, a traditional SME or a large company. Tax, social or market-access schemes then risk being diluted or challenged. Startups often go through a long period of uncertainty (one to three years) before finding a viable, scalable business model. During that period, a dedicated framework makes it possible to lighten costs, ease hiring or open markets without waiting for them to become profitable.
This logic is not theoretical. It explains why several African countries have legislated. Tunisia adopted Law No. 2018-20 on startups as early as 2018, the first on the continent. The label is awarded on criteria of age (under eight years), size (fewer than 100 employees, turnover or balance sheet below 15 million dinars), independence of capital and an innovative model with high potential. It opens up concrete benefits: corporate income tax exemption for the duration of the label, coverage of social contributions, a foreign-currency account and grants for founders. More than 1,150 startups have been labeled according to CEPEX and Startup Tunisia data, and the country is already working on a 2.0 version.
Other countries have followed: Senegal, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, among others. Results are uneven (implementation matters as much as the text), but the signal to investors is clear. In Morocco, the JEI label, managed notably through the Digital Development Agency, has already benefited several hundred companies and facilitates certain international operations. It does not replace a comprehensive legislative status.
What Morocco can learn from its neighbors
Tunisia offers the closest parallel. Tunisian founders have produced major exits: InstaDeep, born in Tunis in 2014 and acquired by BioNTech in 2023 in a deal worth up to roughly 680 million dollars, one of the largest in African tech; and Expensya, acquired by Medius the same year. These companies often relocated their headquarters or structured their operations to raise funds internationally, but they were born in an ecosystem that quickly put a framework in place. Tunisia now counts more than 1,400 startups according to some official estimates, and its ecosystem is climbing the StartupBlink rankings.
Morocco sits around 7th in Africa for fundraising in recent years (about 81 million dollars in 2025 according to consolidated figures), behind the “Big Four” and a few others, even though it has a larger market, an industrial base and an active diaspora. Alaoui notes that the country deserves a higher place in these rankings given its potential. Legislative slowness is one explanation among others. He cites the crowdfunding law (Law 15-18), which took nearly a decade to go from idea to operational reality. In the meantime, the concept took off elsewhere.
Comparing startup frameworks
- Tunisia (Law 2018-20): label based on age, size, innovation and scalability criteria; tax and social exemptions; more than 1,000 labeled startups; first significant exits.
- Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire: texts adopted or being activated, with sandboxes, preferential access to public procurement or dedicated funds depending on the case.
- Morocco: no general Startup Act; JEI label (foreign-exchange facilities, technology and age criteria); Maroc Digital 2030 strategy with volume and funding targets, but no unified legal status passed.
Priority measures and the question of time
Once the status is created, Alaoui insists on concrete measures. The top priority he names is employment: lowering the cost of labor for tech profiles and offering grants or safety nets to employees who leave a stable job to launch their project. Such schemes exist in other countries and reduce personal risk. He also calls for a participatory definition, bringing federations (CGEM, APEBI, startup associations) and the ministry around the same table to avoid a framework so rigid that it would confine innovation.
On financing, maximizing investment remains central. Without capital to test and iterate, innovation does not grow. A clear status reassures foreign investors. Training in AI professions is the other lever he highlights: this shift will rapidly redefine economies, and startups are best placed to seize its opportunities.
The real obstacle, in his view, is no longer awareness, which already exists, but speed. The standard process (ministry, General Secretariat of the Government, Parliament, upper house) takes too long. He argues for a fast-track mode of three months rather than two or three years. In the age of AI, delay is costly in lost opportunities and regional competition.
Conclusion
Morocco has the talent, a sizable domestic market, a strategic geographic position and a stated ambition in Maroc Digital 2030. Moroccans have already proven they can build companies of international scale. The question is no longer “if” a unicorn can emerge from the national territory, but “under what conditions” and “at what pace”. A clear legal status is not a magic wand; it is the starting point that allows taxation, employment, market access and financing to be tailored to the realities of high-potential companies. Without it, public policies remain generic and investors hesitate.
Private players have already formulated demands inspired by neighboring models. Public authorities are aware of the issue. What remains is to organize the workshops, draft the text and get it passed quickly. Time, as Alaoui stresses, is now the main competitor.
FAQ
What is a unicorn?
A startup valued at more than one billion dollars, capable of creating a large number of jobs and significantly affecting its country’s economy.
Does Morocco have a Startup Act?
No. There is a Jeune Entreprise Innovante label and the Maroc Digital 2030 strategy, which provides for a Startup Policy, but no legislative text creating a general startup status has been adopted to date.
Why take inspiration from Tunisia?
Because Tunisia adopted a dedicated framework as early as 2018, which has allowed more than a thousand startups to be labeled and has accompanied the emergence of notable international exits (InstaDeep, Expensya). The two countries share similarities in context.
Which urgent reform do stakeholders say should be prioritized?
The rapid adoption of a legal status, combined with measures to lower the cost of employment and support entrepreneurs leaving salaried work, to unlock the existing potential within three to six months.
