Morocco is celebrating the rise of women-led cooperative entrepreneurship, a discreet yet essential driver of sustainable development. By 2025, women’s participation in the cooperative sector had increased by 6%, confirming their crucial role in transforming the social and solidarity economy.
The Office for the Development of Cooperation (ODCO) took advantage of the International Day of Rural Women, celebrated on October 28, to present a compelling overview: 267,953 women are now active within the national cooperative landscape, with 61% coming from rural areas.
This mobilization has resulted in the creation of 7,891 exclusively female cooperatives, bringing together over 73,000 members—a number that continues to grow. Far from being limited to traditional activities, these structures are becoming real levers for job creation and added value in local territories.
“Economic empowerment of rural women is not just a social challenge, it is a pillar of sustainable development,” emphasizes Aïcha Errifaai, General Director of ODCO. “By strengthening their skills, access to markets, and funding, we are building a more inclusive cooperative model capable of sustainably transforming the territories.”
The female cooperative model is rooted in a deeply rural heritage. In the douars, women have always been able to blend solidarity and ingenuity: mutual aid during harvests, collective management of resources, and pooling of income through tontines.
This social capital, based on trust and cooperation, today forms the foundation of Morocco’s cooperative revival. By guiding this tradition towards modernity, ODCO is transforming rural solidarity into a genuine economic project.
While sewing, embroidery, and livestock remain the historical pillars of the movement—still accounting for 28% of recorded activities—new dynamics are emerging.
Female cooperatives are now investing in promising sectors: agro-food processing, rural tourism, renewable energy, circular economy, and organic farming.
This diversification reflects an increase in skills and a gradual appropriation of environmental and technological issues.
ODCO plays a key role in this evolution by supporting training, labeling, and access to public markets, as well as promoting networking with partner institutions such as INDH, sectoral ministries, universities, and local governments.
Between September 29 and October 17, 2025, ODCO organized thirteen regional meetings in Tangier-Fahs Anjra, Berkane, Nador, Khemisset, Benslimane, Midelt, Tinghir, Kalaat Sraghna, Chtouka Aït Baha, Guelmim, Laâyoune-Boujdour, and Dakhla.
These gatherings attracted 573 participants, including 489 women, mostly young and from rural training centers.
This significant presence illustrates the generational renewal of the social and solidarity economy, driven by a determined young female demographic eager to combine autonomy, innovation, and local grounding.
