2030 World Cup: Rabat’s GBB Summit Draws $3.5 Billion in Investment Interest

Marrakech – Morocco’s bid to position itself as a top destination for international capital in tourism, real estate, and hospitality took a concrete step forward on June 9 at the GBB Investment Summit (GIS), with the kingdom bringing together over 200 delegates from 10 countries at the Four Seasons Hotel Rabat at Kasr Al Bahr.

Organized by GBB, the one-day event generated $3.475 billion in investment interest, reflecting growing investor appetite for Moroccan assets as the country accelerates infrastructure and hospitality development ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2030.

More than 30 investors took part in over 130 pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings, accumulating 2,560 minutes of structured networking. The format connected investors, developers, project owners, operators, consultants, and advisors through focused, agenda-driven conversations designed not as introductions but as the starting points for partnerships, project evaluations, and capital deployment discussions.

Implementing the 2030 tourism vision with the ‘political will to move fast and build well’

Guest of Honor Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Minister of Tourism, delivered the opening keynote, articulating Morocco’s vision for tourism-led growth and its ambition to consolidate its position as a globally competitive investment destination.

Morocco, the minister declared, “is not just open for investment” but “ready for it, with the political will to move fast and build well.” The country’s target of 26 million tourists by 2030, she added, “is not an aspiration” but rather “a commitment.”

Ravi Kumar Chandran, Founder and Managing Director of GBB, opened proceedings by welcoming delegates and stressing the value of environments where investors and decision-makers engage around real opportunities. The summit, he later noted, was built on the principle that “principals should meet principals” in a setting “designed for serious conversation rather than spectacle.”

Imad Barrakad, CEO and Chairman of the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development (SMIT), followed with a presentation on Morocco’s investment strategy, outlining the initiatives, priorities, and institutional frameworks driving the country’s tourism agenda.

Hamid Bentahar, President of the National Tourism Confederation (CNT), then delivered a keynote titled “Investing in Morocco’s Tourism: A World of Opportunities,” examining the growth drivers and market fundamentals placing Morocco among the region’s most compelling destinations for tourism and hospitality.

A legal and institutional safe haven for investors

Christophe Bachelet, Country Managing Partner for Morocco at DLA Piper, presented “Safe Harbour on Paper – Morocco’s Legal Shield in Uncertain Times,” a specialist-led examination of the legal protections and structures reinforcing Morocco’s standing as a secure destination for international capital.

Loubna Boutaleb, CEO of Marchica Med SA, offered delegates a detailed look at hotel investment opportunities in Marchica, Nador, presenting the long-term vision for the area as a future Mediterranean tourism and hospitality hub.

The summit’s flagship panel, “Aligning Moroccan Ambition with Global Capital,” brought together voices from government, institutional finance, development banking, and private capital.

Moderated by Julien Braconnier, Managing Director of Voltere by Egis, the session featured Younès Hajoui of SMIT, Khalid Chami of Ali & Sons Holding LLC, Thomas Pellerin of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Jihane Errachidi of Al Ajial Holding, and Hassan Laaziri, President of AMIC.

A second panel, “The Decision Behind the Deal,” was moderated by Oussama El Kadiri, Partner and Head of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Advisory at Knight Frank MENA.

Featuring Lotfi Lebbar, Principal of Investments at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Mehdi Bennani Smires, CEO of Sirayane Hospitality, the session examined the criteria that transform promising projects into viable investments and the realities shaping capital allocation across Morocco’s real estate and hospitality sectors.

The day closed with a cocktail dinner at the Atlasi Terrace, where conversations continued, and the potential for future partnerships took shape.

Morocco’s investment cycle ahead of 2030 “is among the clearest in the market today,” Chandran observed. He concluded that the relationships formed and capital introductions made in Rabat are “the conversations that precede decisions.”