The social and solidarity economy (SSE) sector continues to gain significance in employment and economic inclusion. In 2025, it contributed to the creation of 24,558 jobs, Secretary of State for Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Lahcen Saâdi, announced Wednesday in Rabat during the closing ceremony of the International Year of Cooperatives.
Under the slogan “Now, it’s the turn of cooperatives”, this meeting, organized in partnership with the Office for the Development of Cooperatives (ODCO), emphasized the authorities’ commitment to strengthening the sector’s structuring and accelerating its modernization.
A Framework Law in Preparation and New Tools to Modernize the Sector
Lahcen Saâdi announced that a new framework law is being developed to consolidate the legislative framework and support a qualitative leap in the organization of the sector.
The official also mentioned several initiatives aimed at improving access to economic opportunities, including:
- The launch of a “Project Bank”, designed to offer concrete investment opportunities, particularly for youth and women;
- The creation of an online training portal, available in Amazigh and Arabic (classical and dialectical), to broaden access to training, especially in remote areas;
- The development of an e-commerce platform dedicated to cooperative products, to enhance their visibility and competitiveness.
Financing: MOAZARA and “Tahfiz Niswa” Target Projects and Women’s Employment
On the financial front, Lahcen Saâdi indicated that the MOAZARA program aims to finance over 500 projects between 2025 and 2026, matching the total funding volume of all projects since 2021.
He also highlighted “Tahfiz Niswa,” a program conducted in partnership with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, which aims, in its first phase, to create 5,000 jobs for women entrepreneurs in four regions of the Kingdom.
65,315 Active Cooperatives and 14 Billion Dirhams in Revenue
Meanwhile, the Director General of the ODCO, Aicha Errifaai, provided an overview of the national cooperative fabric. According to her, Morocco has 65,315 active cooperatives, comprising nearly 789,000 members, including 272,000 women and 18,000 youth.
She added that the sector directly contributes to the creation of 120,000 jobs, with the emergence of 333 large cooperatives, generating an estimated revenue of approximately 14 billion dirhams.
Strategically, she explained that the Moroccan model revolves around four axes, including increasing awareness — with more than 597 sessions — developing cooperative entrepreneurship through public-private partnerships, updating the legal framework, and strengthening governance.
The UN Recognizes the Cooperative Economy as a Lever for Sustainable Development
Present at the ceremony, the Regional Director of the International Cooperative Alliance-Africa, Rose Karimi Kiwanuka, emphasized that the closing of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 marks recognition of the central role of the solidarity economy in sustainable development goals.
She recalled the adoption, on December 15, 2025, of UN resolution 80/182, which calls on governments to strengthen legal and tax frameworks in favor of cooperatives and establishes an International Year of Cooperatives to be celebrated every ten years.
A Partnership for the Inclusion of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities
The ceremony was also marked by the signing of an agreement between Entraide Nationale and the ODCO, aimed at promoting the socio-economic integration of women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
The agreement provides for the development and implementation of joint programs designed to create income-generating activities for vulnerable groups, within a framework of economic empowerment and integration into the national productive fabric.