Long perceived as a marginal economic model, the Moroccan cooperative movement is gradually establishing itself as a pillar of the social and solidarity economy. With nearly 70,000 active cooperatives and more than 778,000 members, this network of local initiatives is now poised to play a more structural role in value creation, employment, and territorial development.
These figures, communicated by the Secretary of State for Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Lahcen Saâdi, reflect the progressive transformation of a sector long limited to subsistence activities. Authorities now aspire to make it a genuine economic lever capable of contributing more significantly to national wealth.
The cooperative movement stands out primarily for its strong territorial roots. Nearly 62% of cooperatives are located in rural areas, where they often provide a supplementary income source for local populations. In these regions, cooperatives enhance the value of agricultural, artisanal, or food productions while promoting the collective organization of producers.
The sector is also characterized by its social dimension. Women currently represent 34% of cooperative members, an indicator that illustrates their growing role in economic empowerment, especially in rural areas.
Beyond this social dimension, the public authorities’ objective is to increase the sector’s economic impact. Thus, the authorities aim to raise the contribution of the social and solidarity economy to between 6% and 8% of GDP, while facilitating the creation of around 50,000 sustainable jobs each year.
Certain regions already exemplify this dynamic. The Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceïma region, for example, boasts nearly 6,000 cooperatives, with more than two-thirds located in rural areas. Regional fairs and solidarity markets are regularly organized there to enhance the visibility of cooperative products and facilitate their access to marketing channels.
Access to the market remains one of the sector’s main challenges. To address this, several initiatives have been implemented to promote products arising from the social economy. Between 2021 and 2025, around twenty regional fairs have allowed more than 3,600 organizations to showcase their products and services, generating nearly 200 million dirhams in revenue.
Mobile solidarity markets also serve as an important promotional tool. Several editions organized across different cities in the country have gathered more than a thousand organizations and generated several tens of millions of dirhams in sales.
The sector’s development is also supported by financing and support mechanisms. The Moazara program, for instance, has supported several hundred cooperative projects, with strong participation from women and a particular focus on rural areas.
Other initiatives aim to encourage innovation in the social economy. National awards such as “Lalla Al Moutaâawina” and “Al Jil Al Moutadamine” annually recognize innovative cooperative projects and contribute to supporting their development.
Structuring a new generation of cooperatives is also a central focus of public policies. The Mourafaka program aims to support hundreds of new cooperatives each year to strengthen their management and development capacities.
In the agricultural sector, this dynamic aligns with the Green Generation strategy, which aims to create 18,000 new-generation agricultural cooperatives by 2030. Concurrently, dedicated programs support female entrepreneurship in rural areas and encourage the establishment of collective economic activities.
Modernizing the sector also involves embracing digital transformation. Authorities have begun digitizing the cooperative creation process by implementing an information system linking the records of first-instance courts. Several cooperatives have also received support in their digital transition, with some already venturing into e-commerce.
Despite this progress, the main challenge remains one of scaling up. Although the number of cooperatives has grown significantly in recent years, their economic impact is still limited. The current challenge is to transform this dense network of local initiatives into a true engine of economic development.
In this context, training and awareness programs are multiplying to support the sector’s professionalization. Authorities are focusing on enhancing management skills, strengthening market access, and fostering innovation to enable the cooperative model to reach a new stage in its development.
With social inclusion, rural development, and female entrepreneurship at the forefront, cooperatives are increasingly seen as a strategic tool for building a more inclusive economy better anchored in local territories.
Source: L’Opinion