COUNTRY FOCUS : MOROCCO

outsourcing sector . The segment is driven by call centres and business process outsourcing , BPO activities .

Techno parks

According to figures by the Moroccan Association of Customer Relations , call services and outsourcing activities employed 68,000 of the country ’ s citizens in 2016 , up from 65,000 a year earlier , and showing consistent growth from only 5,000 in 2004 . In addition , these activities produced export revenues of Dh9bn , € 809.5m . The growth of the outsourcing industry has been critical in increasing employment opportunities and expanding IT infrastructure .

As of 2015 , Morocco had three technoparks . Since the first technopark was established in Rabat in 2005 , a second has been set up in Casablanca , followed , in 2015 , by a third in Tangiers . Another IT park is currently under development in the city of Oujda , near Morocco ’ s border with Algeria . The technoparks host start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises specialising in information and communication technologies , green technologies , and cultural industries .

Casanearshore Park hosts around 100 domestic and foreign firms that employ some 20,000 people . The IT centre , which has attracted Dh3.4bn , € 305.8m in investment , was established by state-owned MEDZ Sourcing , which has since expanded the concept across several other regions of Morocco .

2017 to equip the IT sector with a robust policy and regulatory environment .

Under the Digital Morocco Plan 2020 , the Morocco plans to double the annual number of IT-trained professionals in universities and training centres from 15,000 to 30,000 . One of the main assets of Morocco ’ s ICT ecosystem is the high availability of the workforce . Nonetheless , the current scarcity of management-level profiles is making them quite expensive to hire .

Current challenges notwithstanding , the value per talent that international firms can acquire in the country continues to be a strong selling point , with the authorities attempting to attract a larger number of companies into the Morocco ’ s IT ecosystem . A junior IT engineer starts with a salary of € 500 – 600 per month in Morocco , while in France this figure would be three times higher . This is a big competitive advantage of opening in Morocco .

A trained and professional workforce as well as geographic and cultural proximity to European markets has allowed the Morocco to establish an IT services and

Fast growth in BPO

Early 2019 predictions by the Moroccan Federation of Outsourcing and local IT services firm Outsourcia estimated that the total sector turnover reached Dh10.5bn , € 944.4m in 2018 , ranking it in the top-five industries in terms of foreign exchange contributions in Morocco . We can expect increased jobs to be outsourced in segments such as customer services , sales , and human resources . In that regard , Morocco ’ s geographical location is an asset for European companies .

Moroccan outsourcing firms nonetheless face mounting competition from providers in other Frenchspeaking countries with more competitive salaries , particularly in sub-Saharan Africa . This has encouraged local providers to expand their activities across the continent and into the Middle East .

Despite its employment potential , the outsourcing segment is facing a brain drain , with an estimated 600 IT engineers leaving the country per year in search of better-paying jobs abroad . Over the coming years the outsourcing segment will need to

www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA 43