Morocco prepares e-commerce strategy to become a global and African hub

This initiative comes as global e-commerce sales reached $5.8 trillion in 2023 and are projected to hit $8 trillion by 2027, a 39% increase. This exponential growth has shifted consumer habits, with online sales experiencing double-digit growth while in-store sales decline in regions like Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. In Morocco, the e-commerce sector's turnover reached 19 billion dirhams by September 2023, with an average growth rate exceeding 30%.

Despite this progress and a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, authorities believe the sector's potential is underexploited due to organizational, legal, and fiscal challenges. To address this, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched an in-depth study to identify development levers and export potential. The roadmap will involve analyzing the current e-commerce landscape, including governance, regulatory and tax frameworks, digital and logistical infrastructure, and economic models.

It will also examine new value chains generated by e-commerce and their impact on sectors like agri-food and textiles, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA e-commerce protocol. Benchmarking against countries with