Rural women break into innovation sectors, achieving record participation in Moroccan cooperatives
The national cooperative movement registered a new record in women’s participation, with 267,953 women being members in 2025, according to data from the Cooperative Development Office, marking World Rural Women’s Day.
This figure, which has increased by 6% compared to previous years, reflects the growing dynamics of women’s participation, especially from rural areas, in the social and solidarity economy of the kingdom.
Previously associated mainly with traditional fields such as handicrafts and livestock farming, new women-led cooperatives today are leading innovative projects in advanced food processing, ecotourism, renewable energy, circular economy, and organic farming, showcasing their adaptability to economic transformations and their potential to drive change.
The total number of women’s cooperatives stands at 7,891, with nearly half operating in rural areas, according to the Cooperative Development Office under the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, Social Economy, and Solidarity.
Aicha Rifaï, the Office’s Director General, emphasized that empowering rural women represents “a pillar of sustainable development,” explaining that “economic empowerment goes beyond a social dimension, as it establishes a more inclusive cooperative model capable of effecting real change in rural regions.”
She added that the Office’s strategy focuses on developing women’s technical and administrative skills, facilitating their access to resources and markets, and encouraging innovation and female entrepreneurship.
In this context, the Office organized 13 regional meetings from September 29 to October 17, 2025, across various regions of the kingdom, with the participation of 573 cooperative actors, including 489 women, most of whom are young graduates from rural training centers, indicating the emergence of a new generation of qualified young women’s cooperatives ready to lead local development.
The Cooperative Development Office affirms that support for women’s cooperatives is no longer merely a solidarity initiative but a strategic economic choice for the state, recognizing them as a lever for creating added value, establishing job opportunities in villages, enhancing social cohesion, and promoting local products.
