Morocco is now among the world’s 20 most AI-ready outsourcing destinations, according to a new international ranking released on Tuesday.
The country ranked 19th in the first Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index 2026, published by consultancy Ataraxis. It scored 43.35 out of 100, placing second in the Middle East and North Africa after Egypt and fifth in Africa, behind South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Ghana.
The result is higher than Morocco’s 28th place in Kearney’s Global Services Location Index, which measures the attractiveness of outsourcing destinations. The gap suggests the country performs better when artificial intelligence is included in the assessment.
FMES, the Moroccan Federation of Outsourcing Services, said the ranking shows that Morocco has made AI part of its outsourcing strategy instead of treating it as a threat to jobs. “Where many viewed AI as a risk for the outsourcing industry, Morocco chose early on to turn it into a lever for transformation and competitiveness.”
FMES President Youssef Chraibi said AI has been used to help workers do more valuable work, not replace them. “We embraced AI early, not to replace people, but to increase their value. This vision is what enables Morocco today to join the world’s top 20 when artificial intelligence enters the equation.”
He added: “We did not undergo the AI revolution. We chose to embrace it, and that choice is now being recognised globally.”
The federation said skilled workers, modern infrastructure and growing use of AI helped improve Morocco’s position.
The outsourcing sector has also moved beyond traditional call centres and business process outsourcing into higher-value services. These include information technology outsourcing (ITO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), engineering service outsourcing (ESO), cloud computing, DevOps, cybersecurity, data analytics, natural language processing (NLP), generative AI, agentic AI systems and automated software development.
Several dedicated technology hubs support the sector, including Casablanca Nearshore, Rabat Technopolis, Fès Shore, Tétouan Shore and Oujda Shore.
The ranking comes as Morocco rolls out its Digital Morocco 2030 strategy. The plan aims to increase outsourcing revenue from about 26.2 billion dirhams ($2.8 billion) to 40 billion dirhams by 2030. It also targets growth in the sector’s workforce from 148,500 to 270,000 professionals.
The strategy includes training 100,000 young people each year in digital skills and attracting more international technology companies to open engineering and research centres in the country.
Time zone alignment with Europe, a multilingual workforce and compliance with GDPR and Morocco’s CNDP data protection rules are also seen as strengths for companies looking to outsource AI-enabled services.
FMES will continue working with the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, as well as private companies and universities, to attract more investment, create skilled jobs and grow the sector.
