Morocco’s Minister of Labor Encourages Self-Employment

Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Labor and Professional Integration, Mohamed Amkraz, stressed the need to encourage self-employment, given the opportunities it offers, calling on the government and concerned institutions to make more effort to promote this sector.

The minister spoke during the second session of the board of directors of the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) for the year 2019, dedicated to the presentation of the 2020 action plan, on Friday, December 27, in Rabat.

Amkraz said that young Moroccans must break away from their preconceived ideas of self-employment, explaining that it offers more opportunities in terms of social advancement in comparison with salaried employment.

The official clarified the role of the government in supporting the private sector and improving the image of Morocco to attract international investors, in order to provide young entrepreneurs with the necessary logistical support.

During the meeting, ANAPEC’s director, Abdelmounaim Madani, presented the planned projects for 2020, along with the agency’s action plan and budget for the same year.

The new year’s projects concern the encouragement of both paid employment and self-employment, strengthening the territorial reach of the agency’s actions, and the launch of a new computer system that will facilitate ANAPEC’s digital transformation.

The projects will also consolidate the agency’s orientation towards entrepreneurship, through the development of a sectoral approach, based on regional and local action plans, announced the director.

Madani presented the agency’s results and 2020 forecasts during the meeting as well.

Between 2016 and the end of October 2019, the agency’s programs helped integrate 376,807 young Moroccans into paid employment.

In the 10 first months of 2019, ANAPEC supported 4,073 project leaders through its self-employment support program. The number represents an increase of 107% compared to the same period in 2018, and is expected to reach 6,000 in 2020.

ANAPEC’s budget for the year 2020 is estimated at MAD 691,5 million, divided between management (MAD 233,5 million), investment (MAD 8 million), employment projects (MAD 445 million), and net resources (MAD 5 million).