Morocco pitches diaspora investors to fund next phase of industrial expansion

Lead

Morocco’s head of government used a national investment forum in Tangier on Friday to urge Moroccans living abroad to move beyond remittances and become direct investors as Rabat prepares for a new phase of industrial and infrastructure expansion. The forum, held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI, drew Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, ministers, regional officials, business leaders and representatives of Morocco’s roughly five million expatriates. Officials highlighted that Moroccans abroad sent more than 122 billion dirhams ($13.2 billion) home in 2025, yet diaspora investment still accounts for only around 10% of national private investment.

Direct quote

Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch told attendees Morocco intends to shift “from financial transfers to productive investment,” arguing that overseas Moroccans are not only a source of foreign currency but also a reservoir of international business networks, technical expertise and entrepreneurial capital.

Context and details

The Tangier forum reframed diaspora policy away from traditional focuses — remittances, seasonal return operations and administrative services — and positioned overseas Moroccans as partners in targeted sectors such as automotive manufacturing, aerospace, renewable energy, batteries and logistics. Government messaging tied the appeal to concrete national priorities including electric vehicle supply chains, green hydrogen projects, logistics infrastructure and preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

• The National Investment Commission has approved 381 projects worth 581 billion dirhams since the current government took office; those projects are expected to create more than 245,000 direct and indirect jobs, Akhannouch said.
• Reforms presented to ease investment barriers include a new investment charter, digitization of procedures through platforms such as CRI Invest and DirectEntreprise, and decentralization of approvals for projects valued below 250 million dirhams.
• Officials acknowledged longstanding complaints from diaspora investors about bureaucracy, fragmented institutions and slow administrative procedures and said the recent measures aim to address those frictions.
• Institutional changes are also underway: following royal directives linked to the 49th anniversary of the Green March, Rabat plans to strengthen the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad and create the Mohammed VI Foundation for Moroccans Abroad.

Outlook

Rabat is explicitly courting the diaspora as a source of long-term productive capital rather than short-term remittance flows as it accelerates manufacturing and infrastructure projects. The combination of project pipelines worth hundreds of billions of dirhams, digitized approval channels and institutional reforms is intended to convert part of the roughly 122 billion dirhams in annual remittances into equity, joint ventures and direct investment. The success of that strategy will depend on whether the government’s administrative reforms and newly announced institutional mechanisms materially reduce the barriers that have kept diaspora investment at around one-tenth of private investment to date.