Huawei Launches Spark Program to Support Morocco’s Startup Ecosystem

Rabat – In a bid to reinforce Morocco’s digital transformation efforts, Huawei on Thursday announced the organization of the first edition of the Spark program in December 2022.

The national competition aims to promote innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in Morocco by assisting startups focused on new technology such as cloud management and AI (artificial intelligence).

The top three startups, selected by the jury, would secure financial and technical support to unleash their full potential. The technical aspect of the program is set to include access to ICT technology as well as business know-how.

Commenting on the program, General Manager of Huawei Morocco Jerry Cui said.
“We at Huawei believe that the key to sustainable digital development lies in an ecosystem of thriving and successful SMEs and startups.”

“Huawei is proud to organize this competition, which aims to promote the entrepreneurial spirit in Morocco by encouraging project holders to continue building promising startups and accelerate their digital transformation,” the executive added.

Aware of technical challenges facing Moroccan startups, the Shenzhen-based company appears to be determined to help local stakeholders “define viable go-to-market, customer acquisition, and fundraising strategies.”

Initiated in July during the Digitech Ecosystem Summit 2022, the Spark program enjoys the support of the Moroccan government and Huawei’s partners such as AUSIM, Technopark, Orange, and MAScIR.

The program underlines Morocco’s ambitions to become a digital nation and an African digital hub.

In October, Morocco’s Minister of Digital Transformation Ghita Mezzour highlighted the country’s growing interest in digitization, adding that the government is currently developing a national strategy with the support of investors, civil society, and startups.

With the COVID-19 crisis contributing to the acceleration of digital transformation worldwide, Morocco’s Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Businesses and Employment Younes Sekkouri attributes the country’s “significant progress” in the sector to its response to the pandemic.

According to Coursera’s CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, “businesses and schools will never be the same” in the post-COVID world.

In Morocco, consecutive lockdowns revealed the need to adopt and generalize domestic e-learning solutions.

However, the pandemic also brought some positive changes, including a more flexible work environment (hybrid and remote) as well as growing interest in e-commerce solutions which led to the creation of several e-commerce, marketplace, and fintec startups.