VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0163/01 2241703
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121703Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8484
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0717
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3881

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000163 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG 
COMMERCE FOR NATHANIEL MASON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV KWMN MO
SUBJECT: BEYOND THE VEIL - WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN MOROCCO 
 
REF: A. 08 CASABLANCA 232 
¶B. CASABLANCA 109 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: By codifying women's rights to equal 
participation in politics, society, and the economy, as well as 
recognizing their right to education, King Mohammed VI has 
positively altered the business climate for women in Morocco. 
According to the Moroccan Association of Women Entrepreneurs, more 
than 5,000 female entrepreneurs operate in the country's formal 
economy and nearly 2.7 million women are part of Morocco's work 
force.  Working women play a particularly critical role in the 
country's service sector, which employs more than 57 percent of the 
female work force.  Despite these achievements, the proportion of 
women entrepreneurs remains very low, with less than one woman out 
of a 100 owning a business.  Discussions with civic society, women 
CEOs, and government interlocutors indicate that the country's 
bureaucratic red tape compounded with limited access to finance and 
inadequate higher education constitute the biggest impediments for 
female entrepreneurs in Morocco.  Sources also contend that, 
contrary to popular belief, gender discrimination and socio-cultural 
barriers, while real, do not constitute a major obstacle.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Women in Business Today 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Since the beginning of Mohammed VI's reign ten years ago, 
women's rights to equal participation in politics, society, and the 
economy has been a critical component of his reform agenda (Septel). 
 Legislation such as the New Family Code (the Moudawana) transformed 
relations between women and men in the public sphere (Ref A) and 
altered the business climate for women in Morocco.  According to the 
Moroccan Association of Women Entrepreneurs (AFEM), nearly 2.7 
million women are part of Morocco's work force, an estimated 75 
percent of whom work in the informal market.  This dominance of the 
informal sector makes it difficult to accurately determine relative 
contributions to the country's gross domestic product. 
Nevertheless, it is clear that women are critical contributors to 
the country's largest sectors: services, agriculture, and industry. 
They play a particularly critical role in the country's service 
sector, which employs 57 percent of the female work force. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Women have also made significant advances in business 
leadership and entrepreneurial development.  According to AFEM, more 
than 5,000 women entrepreneurs, whose businesses are primarily 
located in Casablanca, operate in Morocco's formal economy.  They 
are highly educated with over 60 percent having obtained a 
university or commercial degree.  Although established in various 
sectors of the economy, women-led and owned firms are generally 
concentrated in the service sector and that of trade and 
distribution.  Bouthayna Iraqui, both a Member of Parliament and CEO 
of a large medical supply company, told EconOff that female 
entrepreneurs have benefited from the acquisition of managerial 
competencies, the persistence of unemployment that has forced women 
to seek independent employment, and the growth of the service 
sector, where women generally have the know-how and expertise. 
 
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Obstacles to Women's Progress 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) While women entrepreneurship has grown in Morocco, the 
proportion of women-led and owned firms remains very low.  Fewer 
than one woman out of 100 owns a business.  "It is clear that women 
entrepreneurs play a far more important role in the country's 
economic life than previously thought," said Soraya Badraoui, the 
President of AFEM (Association des Femmes Chef d'Entreprises du 
Maroc), "but there are still too few of them."  Those few are the 
country's urban elite women, the well educated and well-off, 
admitted a well-placed source in Morocco's Business Federation. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Unlike other countries in the Middle East and North 
Africa, Moroccan women face no legal requirements such as a 
husband's permission to travel or start a business.  Salwa 
Akheenouch, Zara's CEO in Morocco and, according to the Financial 
Times, one of the Middle East's most influential women, said, "While 
some social norms occasionally dampen female entrepreneurship, 
gender discrimination does not constitute a major obstacle for women 
entrepreneurs in Morocco."  Rather, discussions with contacts in 
civil society, government interlocutors, and women CEOs in Morocco, 
reveal that the main obstacles faced by women wishing to establish 
their own business are the same as those faced by their male 
counterparts, bureaucratic red tape, limited access to financing, 
and the difficulty of recruiting qualified workers needed to operate 
a business (Ref B). 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Education presents another obstacle as women's 
underrepresentation at higher grade-levels and persisting illiteracy 
rates limit their choices in employment.  (Note: Two of every five 
women over the age of 15 are illiterate in Morocco.  End Note.)  For 
those who manage to obtain higher levels of education, the education 
system still has gender stereotypes directing women into 
"appropriate" professional tracks such as social work and education, 
according to a 2006 World Bank report.  In addition, limited access 
to financial management skills and technology within Morocco's 
educational system limits women's entrepreneurial development 
potential. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7.  (SBU) Women play an important role as entrepreneurs in Morocco, 
and will need to play an even larger role in the country's efforts 
to create a modern and outward looking services sector.  Success 
will depend on wider access to education for women.  The classroom, 
particularly at the tertiary level and above, serve as a network 
conduit for mentorship, partnership, and access to credit.  A 
national-level business incubator for women-led enterprises, similar 
to the one implemented in Casablanca, may also encourage female 
entrepreneurial development giving young innovative women the 
technical and financial tools needed to operate a long-term 
successful business.  Such a project may be ripe for future support 
from the Middle East Partnership Initiative or USAID.  In general, 
however, reforms that reduce the administrative barriers to starting 
a business and give aspiring entrepreneurs expanded access to 
finance are the best allies for women and men in business. 
 
MILLARD