馃嚥馃嚘MoroccoNorth Africa
Tanger Med Port Authority to acquire 44% of PortNet alongside National Ports Agency
via Le Matin1 min read
The Competition Council has received notification of a proposed economic concentration involving the joint control of PortNet by Tanger Med Port Authority, the managing company of Tanger Med port, alongside the National Ports Agency ANP, its historical shareholder. The transaction involves Tanger Med Port Authority acquiring 44.07% of PortNet's share capital and voting rights through a capital increase. Established in 2008 by the National Ports Agency, PortNet is a single window platform developed through an alliance between port communities and international trade stakeholders. This tool supports national strategies to improve the business climate, trade, port and logistics competitiveness, and e-government services. PortNet offers over 120 fully dematerialized community services to an ecosystem of more than 55,000 users from administrations, institutions, and businesses nationwide. The platform digitizes and simplifies import-export operations and user journeys. Recently, PortNet developed the Moroccan Foreign Trade Procedures Portal, a national single window designed to harmonize and simplify all import-export procedures. This initiative aims to reduce administrative processing times by 20% to 50% and will eventually process nearly 40 million digitized documents annually for over 100,000 users.
Free daily or weekly digest of the most important stories from across 18 African countries. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Le Matin.
SimSim-Participation citoyenne, a civil society organization, is advocating for responsible artificial intelligence governance in Morocco and greater involvement of civil society in digital public policy development. A national survey conducted by the association across various regions of Morocco highlights the need for an integrated legal and institutional framework to guide AI development, ensuring safe, responsible, and rights-compliant usage. The organization emphasizes that regulation is crucial for building trust, organizing AI applications, clarifying responsibilities, and preventing adverse effects from rapid, unregulated adoption. The report, titled "Artificial Intelligence and Civil Society in Morocco: Towards Responsible Governance and a Regulatory Framework that Takes into Account the Needs of Civil Actors," underscores that AI offers significant opportunities for innovation and service improvement but also presents legal and ethical challenges requiring structured public responses. SimSim-Participation citoyenne argues that civil society should not merely be recipients of digital policies but actively participate in their creation, especially concerning rights, access to information, citizen participation, and institutional trust. The association's advocacy is based on a national survey that identified civil society organizations' perceptions of AI, its opportunities, and the legal, ethical, and organizational challenges they anticipate. The survey also revealed
The 4th edition of the Women Summit, held in Morocco, emphasized the critical role of female leadership in Africa's inclusive and sustainable growth, aligning with Morocco's Atlantic Initiative. Hanane A茂t A茂ssa, President of Startup Grow Foundation, highlighted that no development dynamic succeeds without the contribution of women. The event, attended by political, diplomatic, and economic figures from Morocco and other African capitals, focused on the theme "Atlantic Initiative: Women Driving Africa's Inclusive & Sustainable Growth." The Atlantic Initiative aims to provide Sahel countries with access to the ocean and foster a more connected Africa. Morocco was presented as a model, citing reforms in its Family Code, increased political representation, and economic empowerment, all under Royal Impulsion. Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stressed the need to strengthen women's economic presence, noting that recent baccalaureate results showed girls outperforming boys, indicating a promising future for female leadership in Morocco. The summit also addressed financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs. Sa茂d Jabrani, Director General of Tamwilcom, revealed a 25-point gap in banking access between men and women, with only 15% of female entrepreneurs securing bank loans. While microfinance serves nearly 85% of women beneficiaries, this often limits them to micro-enterprises. Tamwilcom's initiatives include guaranteeing 80% of loans for women, co-financing at 2% ove
Must ReadThe death toll from the recent earthquakes in Venezuela has reached 235, with Health Minister Carlos Alvarado confirming that these patients either arrived without vital signs or died upon arrival at health facilities. Among the deceased are two Spaniards, one Portuguese, two Brazilians, one Italian-Venezuelan, and two Chinese nationals. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported 80 Spaniards were still unaccounted for as of Friday morning. The quakes also resulted in at least 4,300 injuries nationwide. The hardest-hit area is La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, which includes the international airport of Maiquetia, now closed due to damage, and the coastal city of Catia la Mar, where several buildings collapsed. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency following the double tremors of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which occurred on Wednesday at 18:04 22:04 GMT. According to the United States Geological Survey USGS, the 7.5 magnitude earthquake is the strongest to hit Venezuela, a country of nearly 30 million inhabitants, since 1900. The first tremor occurred at a depth of 21.9 km, approximately 200 km west of Caracas, followed by a second at 10 km depth, recorded 39 seconds later 45 km away, and then about twenty aftershocks.