GITEX Africa Morocco has doubled its startup presence since its launch in 2023, according to the event’s country chief representative Chakib Achour.
Speaking at the 2026 edition in Marrakech, he said the event now hosts more than 1,500 exhibitors and investors from the United States, Europe and across Africa.
“I think it is very important to see how the startups are progressing here in Morocco and across Africa. When we started in 2023, we had maybe 300 or 400 startups. Today, we have doubled that number.
“We have investors coming from all over the world including the United States, Europe, and across Africa. This is the best outcome we could hope for. We also have more than 1,500 exhibitors this year.”
Organisers say the fourth edition is focusing on sectors including mobility, future banking, agri-tech and ed-tech.
“We are very confident in this fourth edition because we are highlighting vertical sectors like mobility, future banking, agri-tech, and ed-tech. All these sectors are perfectly aligned with the needs of Morocco and the continent.”
The event also marked the celebration of 300 Moroccan startups under the Morocco 300 programme. Achour said the goal is both volume and growth.
“Both. We want a high volume of startups, but we also want them to scale.”
He said several companies that first exhibited as startups have moved into enterprise zones.
“You can see startups that were small last year and are now moving out of the startup area into the enterprise and scale-up zones. They were exhibiting here in 2023 and now they have large booths in the enterprise section. When you see startups raising over 15 million dollars, you know the scale is real.
“We started with the Morocco 100 program, and this year it is Morocco 300. We have tripled that number and hope to reach 1,000 startups soon.”
Achour said founders are showing greater maturity compared with the early years.
“The maturity of the founders. They truly realize how vital digital transformation is now. I remember doing the roadshows in 2024 to meet these entrepreneurs. Back then, they had so many basic questions. Now, we see that maturity has grown. Everyone wants to be here, even students are already thinking about how to build their own companies.”
Digital sovereignty
Achour said digital sovereignty remains a priority for the region.
“It is essential to ensure we have our own cloud data centres. We have the connectivity and a good offering now, but we need to continue developing this infrastructure so we can host and secure our data here in Morocco. We need to be able to access our own data to extract insights and develop use cases for healthcare, agri-tech, water management, and energy. We must have sovereignty over our data.”
Healthcare event in Casablanca
GITEX organisers are launching a dedicated healthcare event in Casablanca on 4–6 May. “Healthcare is a massive ecosystem in Africa. On May 4, 5, and 6, we will host the biggest healthcare event on the continent in Casablanca. We want our healthcare startups to drive innovation in priorities like telemedicine and teleconsultation. We are working very closely with the Ministry of Health and the Mohammed VI Foundation on this.”
Measuring success
More than 55,000 visitors attended the 2026 edition. “Success is the energy. If you stay for the main stage this afternoon, you will see the energy during the Supernova competition finals. You see it from the startups and the young people. Success is also the satisfaction of the investors. When they tell us they will be back next year for the fifth edition with even bigger ambitions, that is when I know we have succeeded.”
