Younes Sekkouri and Chakib Laâlaj Shine Light on Financing and Licensing Challenges Facing Small Enterprises
Younes Sekkouri, the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Businesses, Employment, and Skills, announced a new package of government measures aimed at supporting very small, small, and medium-sized enterprises. He explained that the first of these steps revolves around employment, enabling these businesses to hire workers, whether they hold degrees or not, while providing access to a new training scheme known as “professional apprenticeship,” accompanied by financial support designated for employers for each worker hired.
The minister noted an anticipated reform of the continuous training system, as the targeted enterprises currently do not receive any compensation for the training they provide to their employees. He revealed that the government is preparing a new labor code, set to be issued by the end of this year.
The new measures are also linked to the national investment charter, which grants enterprises with an annual turnover between 1 million dirhams and 50 million dirhams an investment grant under a specific decree, the value of which varies based on the size of the investment, type of sector, number of employees, and geographical location of the activity. Among the new initiatives is the launch of a program that offers financing tailored to the needs of this category of enterprises, which traditional banks are unable to meet.
Sekouri emphasized, during the opening of the forum for very small, small, and medium enterprises, a fundamental issue facing these businesses: the difficulties in obtaining necessary licenses. While enterprises begin their investments, they remain unable to initiate operations due to delays in the issuance of licenses, leading them to incur operational costs from taxes and bank installments without starting actual work. He affirmed that the government is moving toward a radical solution by adopting proposals based on terms of reference instead of a licensing system, simplifying procedures, stimulating investment, while ensuring legal compliance and imposing penalties on violators.
He also pointed out that the issue of personal guarantees remains one of the main obstacles preventing enterprises from accessing the necessary financing, which limits their ability to create job opportunities, despite accounting for about 85% of youth employment in Morocco.
For his part, Chakib Laâlaj, President of the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco, highlighted the importance of organizing the forum in the current context, given that small and medium-sized enterprises constitute 95% of the union’s members and contributed 80% of the jobs created over the past five years. He considered licenses to be one of the major obstacles facing this category, as they delay the practical launch of projects and affect efforts related to securing financing and developing business plans.
Laâlaj stressed the need to find urgent solutions to financing issues and to provide qualified human resources capable of responding to the needs of these enterprises in their growth trajectory.
The morning session of the forum featured inspiring success stories from several entrepreneurs, including Anas Belkhayat, who shared the transformation of his business from a small unit to a large company thanks to financing and a strategy for external growth, and Mya Filali Lahlou, who discussed the challenges linked to leadership transition in family businesses.
The meeting also saw an exchange of experiences among young entrepreneurs in the fields of industry and innovation, discussing daily challenges, funding methods, team management, and digital transformation, emphasizing the importance of the meeting as a platform for idea exchange and fostering a spirit of initiative.
Nour Eddine El Zein, General Director of Zain Capital Invest Group, affirmed that the future of these enterprises is promising, reflecting on his personal journey that began with simple trade leading to the establishment of a company generating billions of dirhams in turnover and employing thousands, considering that success in entrepreneurship stems from the entrepreneur’s character and belief in optimism and commitment.
