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Benguerir – Nour-Eddin Ait-Bouguarri, a 23-year-old student at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P)’s 1337 Benguerir, won second place at the 2025 Casablanca Stock Exchange Championship with a performance of 31.82%, outperforming over 2,000 participants from 30 Moroccan and international universities over five weeks.
In an exclusive interview with Morocco World News (MWN), Ait-Bouguarri described himself as a second-year software engineering student at 1337 Benguerir who is currently specializing in cloud engineering.
“I’m breaking into automation and learning DevOps tools to specialize in cloud engineering,” he explained, adding that he joined 1337 after completing his first year of mathematics and computer science at the Faculty of Sciences Semlalia of Marrakech, part of Cadi Ayyad University.
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The Marrakech native shared his journey with MWN, detailing how he first heard about 1337 from a friend who had already passed the “pool” – the intensive month-long selection process that applicants undergo.
“He advised me just to search about the school, so I did. After coming home, I did some research about the school. I understood the process to join, so I did,” Ait-Bouguarri recalled. He then followed the necessary steps, including passing two preliminary games on the website, securing his check-in, and traveling to Benguerir to complete his pool in 2023.
The competition, organized by the Casablanca Stock Exchange, challenged participants to manage a virtual portfolio of one million Moroccan dirhams (approximately $100,000) invested in stocks listed on the Moroccan market.
This annual championship has become a flagship event for financial literacy in Morocco, drawing participants from across the country and beyond. Ait-Bouguarri achieved impressive returns, finishing behind only Reda Ait Allal Mohamed from ISIAM Business School of Agadir, who won with a performance of 46.35%.
A data-driven, fundamentals-based strategy ensured success
“The competition was intense,” Ait-Bouguarri told MWN. “We had to analyze market trends, understand company fundamentals, and make quick decisions based on real-world economic conditions. It was challenging but incredibly educational.”
He mentioned that the 2025 edition marked his second participation in this prestigious competition, having gained valuable experience but not placing in the top five during his first attempt in 2024.
The young investor explained in detail how his winning strategy was rooted in microeconomic analysis and fundamentals. “I targeted sectors that could benefit from the real-world conditions at that time,” he said.
“Before making any investment or building a portfolio properly, you need to analyze the financial health of companies you want to invest in – revenues, profit, debt, and cash flow. You need to check their growth in previous years, examine their management, and see if they have a strong brand or value in their sector.”
However, Ait-Bouguarri noted that the competition’s one-month timeframe required a different approach. “In the case of a short one-month period, you need to focus on companies that benefit from current real-world conditions,” he explained.
His strategy focused on three key sectors: the banking sector, which benefited from interest rate cuts and tax amnesty measures implemented at that time; construction companies working on major infrastructure projects as Morocco prepares to host the 2030 World Cup; and the growing real estate sector, which was seeing increased demand for affordable housing.
“These three sectors were enough to scale my portfolio in the period of one month,” Ait-Bouguarri stated, stressing the importance of discipline and maintaining a consistent strategy throughout the competition. “The difficulty is staying disciplined and sticking to the same strategy without overtrading or taking excessive risks,” he added.
During the five-week competition period, participants utilized the e-Bourse.ma platform, developed by the Casablanca Stock Exchange in partnership with TradingView.
This platform provided participants with advanced analysis tools and real-time market data, allowing them to develop their investment strategies and monitor stock price movements in conditions very similar to real-world trading.
Ait-Bouguarri mentioned how he created an economic calendar with financial news and events for the month and used a scanner to sort stocks based on average true range and volume to identify candidates for swing trading.
An open, peer-learning system empowering innovation
The championship attracted 2,124 participants from 30 higher education institutions, both within Morocco and abroad. Among the six winners were third-place finisher Salmi Amrou from EMSI Rabat with 28.65%, fourth-place Mohammed Chifahi from HEEC Marrakech with 27.62%, and fifth-place Ilyass Moustaid from ENCG Settat with 24.96%.
In the women’s category, Nada Benfikri from the Faculty of Economics and Management in Kenitra was recognized for her performance of 17.22%.
All six top participants were rewarded for their outstanding performances. The Casablanca Stock Exchange presented them with prizes, including specialized finance training from its international partner, the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).
Additionally, the winners will benefit from a year-long mentoring program led by members of the London Morocco Network, an exclusive club of high-level Moroccan professionals working in London’s economic and financial sectors.
What distinguishes Ait-Bouguarri is his ability to bridge two seemingly separate worlds: technology and finance. “For those who claim there’s a gap between the worlds of tech and finance, I don’t share that view,” he asserted. “We have some examples in the real world that show these two sectors are really bound to each other.”
Ait-Bouguarri mentioned the instance of fintech, where numerous financial challenges are being addressed through technological solutions.
He also cited the example of quantitative trading, where algorithms are coded to trade instead of humans, and therefore concluded that there is no gap between these worlds. On the contrary, he said, they complete each other.
The young investor credited his education at 1337 for developing his problem-solving abilities and technical skills. “The pool was a unique experience. My skill in code was developed very well during that period,” he recalled.
He also highlighted how the school’s peer-learning approach helped him form lasting friendships and professional connections. “In the pool, I made new friends, great friends. We are friends to this day,” he shared with MWN.
1337 Coding School is a Moroccan, tuition-free coding school open to anyone aged 18-30, with no diploma or prior IT experience required – the only admission criterion is creativity. It uses a peer-learning, project-based approach and is open 24/7. Campuses include locations in Khouribga, Benguerir, Rabat, and Tetouan, in addition to YouCode campuses in cities like Safi and Youssoufia.
Determined to bridge coding expertise with finance
Looking ahead, Ait-Bouguarri plans to complete his common core studies at 1337 within the next four months, followed by an internship in cloud engineering. “Then I will come back to finish my courses here in 1337 as a cloud engineer,” he said. “At the same time, I’m going to work hard to develop my skills in finance in order to bring these two worlds together in the future.”
At the award ceremony held on Tuesday in Casablanca, Mohamed Saad, Deputy CEO of the Casablanca Stock Exchange, emphasized the significance of the championship.
“It’s a rendezvous that we hold dear. A story of a championship that energizes the market and motivates us to always go further,” he stated, describing the event as a celebration of the transformative potential of Moroccan youth.
Ahmed Bennani, a representative from the Casablanca Stock Exchange School, noted that throughout the competition, the young investors had an immersive experience under conditions very close to real market situations, developing their own investment strategies and tracking price movements.
He added that the Stock Exchange Championship has established itself over the years as a key event for financial literacy and has contributed to raising awareness among young people about financial market mechanisms.
Beyond this annual competition, the Casablanca Stock Exchange conducts numerous initiatives within the framework of financial education, particularly through its Stock Exchange School and in collaboration with various national and international partners, including the Moroccan Foundation for Financial Education (FMEF).
These actions promoting financial literacy and inclusion are part of a sustainable and continuous financial education policy that has been implemented for more than 25 years by the Stock Exchange School, which to date has trained over 85,000 people.
For Ait-Bouguarri, the experience reinforced his belief in the potential of Morocco’s stock market. “From my humble experience at this competition, what I found is that in the stock market here in Morocco, there is a huge potential, serious potential for those who want to invest seriously,” he concluded, encouraging other tech professionals to explore financial opportunities.
“For tech guys who are using tech only, just try to combine tech with something else, you’re going to do well.”
As Morocco continues to develop its financial markets and prepares for hosting the 2030 World Cup, initiatives like the Stock Exchange Championship serve not only to identify talented young investors but also to foster a broader understanding of financial literacy and investment strategies among the country’s youth – future leaders who will drive Morocco’s economic growth in the decades to come.
