COUNTRY FOCUS: MOROCCO
“In 2009 Morocco joined the WTO
Information Technology Agreement that
removed all tariff barriers to IT products.”
Morocco
making
progress
on ICT
journey
This north African country is still in transition across
many of the traditional IT industry milestones, that some
of its regional Middle East neighbours have crossed.
M
orocco has long been a pioneer
in ICT development on the
continent as well as a hub for
ICT dissemination across the Middle East
and north Africa. In addition to being
the first country in north Africa to install
3G networks, Morocco has significantly
invested in ICT expenditure compared to
its counterparts. In 2008, it spent 12.5%
of its GDP on ICT capital expenditure
versus a MENA average of 5.8%, and its
mobile penetration rose by over 20%
in 2010. The country offers a range of
ICT services including infrastructure
solutions, mobile computing, location-
based services, integrated management
solutions and BPO, and ICT
democratisation services. Furthermore,
Morocco is a significant exporter of ICT
services on the continent and boasts
inexpensive broadband.
www.intelligentcio.com
In 2009, Morocco joined the WTO
Information Technology Agreement
that removed all tariff barriers to
IT products. In addition to reduced
hardware costs, the strong brick
and mortar retail presence of
telecommunication providers have also
helped to boost telecommunications
penetration by lowering barriers to
access. The confluence of low cost,
easy access and relatively high GDP
per capita of about $5,000 has led
to a country with one of the highest
penetration levels on the continent.
As part of the government’s 2013
strategy, each initiative begins with
a funded pilot that is then grown
into a full-fledged programme that is
monitored annually against targets.
One of the most successful programmes
is Generalisation of Information
Technologies and Communication in
Education in Morocco. Through the
USAID supported programme, ICT
equipment is being placed in every
public primary through secondary school
in the country and all teachers are being
trained in IT and methods to integrate
technology into teaching. The leaders
of the programme operate on a belief
that technology access is a right not a
privilege and work to make technology a
way of life for Moroccans.
Despite the rapid pace of technology
adoption among the Moroccan
population and accelerated
development of local businesses
through government partnerships,
Morocco faces hurdles to developing
into an ICT hub that maximises the
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