Strategically located between Europe and Africa, Morocco has leveraged its geographical position and its well-educated youth to develop its services economy. The digital sector is now a major beneficiary of this approach, offering considerable opportunities for international businesses.

Exports of digital and outsourced services have emerged as a quiet engine of Morocco’s economy, reaching 26.2 billion dirhams ($2.8 billion) in 2024. According to Morocco’s foreign exchange office, Office des Changes, this is a slight 0.2% increase from 2023. The sector’s growth momentum was confirmed in the first half of 2025, with exports hitting 13.4 billion dirhams, a 3.5% rise compared with 12.9 billion dirhams during the same period in 2024.

The sector’s growth momentum was confirmed in the first half of 2025, with exports hitting 13.4 billion dirhams

Digital service exports involve specialized Moroccan teams providing services to foreign companies and clients. These local teams execute advanced digital tasks, or international companies outsource support and customer service activities to Moroccan providers to reduce operating costs. Digital services are the most dynamic and in-demand component, generating the majority of the sector's export revenue.

The sector is predominantly driven by Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In 2024, IT and technology services, which encompass development, maintenance, and cybersecurity, accounted for 40.3% of the total. CRM and call center activities, which handle assistance and multilingual support, followed closely at 37.4%. Together, these two segments represent 78% of total digital service exports.

Other key segments contribute to the growth: Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO), which includes design and systems integration, accounted for 13.2% of revenue. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), covering back-office functions like accounting and data entry, made up 8.9%. Meanwhile, Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), which focuses on high-value tasks such as financial analysis and business intelligence, was the smallest component at 0.2%.

Despite global tensions, including inflation and exchange rate volatility, Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO) revenues grew, a sign of Morocco’s gradual move up the value chain. ESO receipts rose from 3.2 billion dirhams in 2023 to 3.4 billion in 2024, already reaching 2.5 billion dirhams in the first half of 2025.

Despite global tensions, including inflation and exchange rate volatility, Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO) revenues grew, a sign of Morocco’s gradual move up the value chain

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) also grew, rising from 1.9 billion dirhams to 2.3 billion dirhams between 2023 and 2024, with 1.3 billion dirhams generated in the first half of 2025. Conversely, Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) experienced a sharp decline, falling from 78 million to 48 million dirhams, and totaled 21 million dirhams in the first half of 2025.

The sector’s stability in 2024 and positive signals in 2025 support Morocco's foreign exchange earnings and its export diversification beyond goods. The acceleration of engineering services demonstrates that Morocco is asserting itself as an engineering hub near Europe, offering reduced lead times and compliance with international standards, rather than solely a call center platform.

The growth in outsourced digital services translates into stable revenue and qualified jobs for the Moroccan economy. Call centers and support activities recruit young people with strong language and interpersonal skills. IT and technology services, however, stimulate demand for more technical and better-paid profiles. The Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform reported the sector already supported 141,000 jobs in 2023, up from 130,000 in 2022 and 100,000 in 2020.

The acceleration of engineering services demonstrates that Morocco is asserting itself as an engineering hub near Europe, offering reduced lead times and compliance with international standards, rather than solely a call center platform

To better manage this growth trajectory, the Office des Changes and the Ministry of Digital Transition have launched a project to modernize monitoring indicators for digital service exports. The goal is to obtain more granular data to target training, regional attractiveness, and promising niche markets. This work is part of the Digital Morocco 2030 strategy.

To maintain this growth, Morocco must tackle three key challenges: adapting to the era of automation by ensuring continuous upskilling to maintain competitiveness against artificial intelligence; guaranteeing high quality service, robust cybersecurity, and impeccable business continuity to compete internationally; and finally, developing talent and infrastructure across the country. Attracting higher value-added projects requires a broader pool of skilled talent and a regional network of infrastructure extending beyond major cities. Coordinated execution of these reforms across government actors will be key to success.

Muriel Edjo