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Rabat – Officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) commended Morocco’s remarkable progress in the 2025 Global Innovation Index, saying it reinforces its position as a “regional leader” in this field.
During a press conference dedicated to presenting the results of the 2025 Global Innovation Index, which ranks 139 economies worldwide based on their innovation performance, officials commended Morocco’s achievement of advancing nine places to rank 57th globally in this year’s edition, which was launched today in Geneva.
They highlighted this performance as one of the strongest in the Middle East and North Africa region this year and identified priority pathways that enabled the country to strengthen its position and solidify its role as a regional leader in innovation.
In this regard, Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, a senior official at WIPO, explained that Morocco stands out as a “country experiencing strong growth over the past decade,” having gradually built its innovation ecosystem based on the Global Innovation Index indicators.
He particularly spoke about the progress made in using the intellectual property system, the emergence of local start-ups, and the strategic importance Morocco has attached to innovation over the past years.
At the same time, the researcher pointed out some structural challenges that remain, including the need for more work to strengthen pillars such as human capital, infrastructure, and market development, while calling for greater efforts in research and development (R&D).
Wunsch-Vincent noted that the ratio of R&D to GDP, the number of researchers, and the ability of young companies to access major funding remain priority areas.
Meanwhile, WIPO Director General Daren Tang recalled that during his visit to Morocco last year, he observed the strength of Morocco’s innovation ecosystem, including he importance given to education and the quality of universities.
He also noted the distinctive creativity of Moroccans, fueled by a rich cultural heritage and openness to global and regional influences, saying that this creativity is reflected in the country’s performance in industrial design, a field in which Morocco excels.
While acknowledging Morocco’s entrepreneurial dynamism and early investments in the start-up ecosystem, the international official noted that many young companies are forced to seek funding abroad.
“The real challenge lies in enabling start-ups to grow while staying in Morocco, which requires a strong local venture capital ecosystem and committed national investors,” he explained.
Regarding scientific research, Tang stressed that the highest-performing countries usually allocate between 2 and 3% of their GDP to R&D, compared to around 0.5% for Morocco, pointing out that this underinvestment directly affects the amount of marketable technologies.
In response to a question from the Moroccan News Agency (MAP) about the possibility of Morocco joining the top 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index in the near future, the WIPO Director General expressed confidence, saying: “We don’t make predictions, but history shows that countries that invest seriously in the innovation ecosystem naturally move up in the rankings,” encouraging the country to continue advancing on this path.
MWN with MAP
