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Casablanca – Technopark Casablanca hosted today a conversation with Professor Matt Glickman, Fulbright Specialist and faculty member at Stanford Graduate School of Business, who shared insights from Silicon Valley on entrepreneurship and venture-building in Morocco, focusing on the practical lessons, founder habits, and strategic choices that allow ventures to scale.
Held in partnership with The Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE), THE FORGE and Technopark Morocco, the event centered on the theme “Bridging Morocco and Silicon Valley: Building the Next Global Hub for Scalable Ventures,” bringing together ecosystem leaders, founders, investors, and students.
The event also featured remarks from the US Consul General Marissa Scott, the Director of Technopark Lamia Benmakhlouf, the CEO of UM6P Ventures Yassine Laghzioui and the Executive Director of MACECE, Dr. Rebecca Geffner.
In an exclusive interview with Morocco World News, Marissa Scott, US Consul General said, “The goal here is an opportunity to see not only how Morocco and the U.S. can continue to work together, but really how this is the next Silicon Valley right here in Morocco.”
Building momentum across Morocco’s innovation ecosystem
The event reflects a growing partnership between MACECE and THE FORGE, the UM6P-based acceleration program, both of which link education with professional development to support entrepreneurship in Morocco.
On the sidelines of the event, Fay Cowper, Head of Platform at THE FORGE, pointed to the growing momentum within Morocco’s entrepreneurship landscape, particularly following recent sector developments.
“This is a really great opportunity to bring everyone together, especially after an event like GITEX that we had last week, along with the other new developments that we’ve had in the entrepreneurship ecosystem here in Morocco.”
Echoing the importance of these ecosystem linkages, Dr. Rebecca B. Geffner reflected on the role of the Fulbright Program in connecting institutions and innovation communities.
“We’ve funded Professor Matt Glickman, coming from Stanford University Business School, to come to Morocco to talk about entrepreneurial ecosystems. And for us, the Fulbright Program is not only about facilitating academic exchanges, but also connecting ecosystems,” she told MWN.
“Fulbright at its core is about people-to-people diplomacy, and we see that extending in today’s context as not only connecting people, but also connecting ideas to execution, local talent to global networks.”
Key factors shaping Morocco’s startup ecosystem
During the discussion, Glickman noted that Morocco’s startup ecosystem benefits from long-term institutional commitment rather than recent momentum alone. He pointed to initiatives such as Technopark, developed over the past 25 years, and national strategies like Digital Morocco 2030, which he said help create a strong foundation for innovation and entrepreneurship.
For Glickman, building a strong startup ecosystem requires not only public-private partnership but also strong government vision and consistency, noting that Morocco already has this as a key enabling factor.
He also emphasized that entrepreneurs should focus primarily on their own venture, as the element they can directly control. Rather than being preoccupied with broader ecosystem dynamics, they should concentrate on execution and remain self-focused, paying attention not only to the product but also to understanding customers’ needs.
In an era where technology is central to most new ventures, he observed that many startups are built around technological solutions. However, he stressed that technology alone is not what makes startups successful unless it is grounded in real customer needs and market realities, adding that this remains a recurring challenge even in Silicon Valley.
He further stressed that strong startup ecosystems are built through the coordinated effort of multiple actors, including universities, government programs, entrepreneurs, private sector players, and venture capital. Instead of relying on a single driver, he highlighted the importance of an interconnected system in which each component reinforces the others.
‘Every region is unique’
“What happens in Silicon Valley can partly be translated to other regions, but every region is unique, and I’m excited to learn and pleasantly surprised to see the level of entrepreneurial activity and support,” Glickman told MWN.
Looking at Morocco’s trajectory, he highlighted the importance of building on existing strengths rather than replicating external models. He pointed to sectors such as mining, agriculture, and emerging industries like electric vehicles, as well as Morocco’s geographic and cultural positioning, which gives it the potential to act as a bridge between Africa, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.
He also underlined that ecosystem development is not a linear process, but one marked by experimentation, setbacks, and incremental progress. In this sense, success is built step by step through repeated learning and adaptation, rather than through a fixed roadmap.
While Silicon Valley remains an influential model, it is not the only path. Other ecosystems, including smaller countries that rely more heavily on domestic markets, demonstrate alternative strategies for building innovation capacity. For him, the key lies in leveraging local strengths and allowing ecosystems to evolve gradually, with patience and continuous adjustment over time.
