On Thursday, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) officially launched “StartGate Rabat,” a new startup campus in the capital city, expanding its venture-building and entrepreneurial ecosystem beyond its original site in Benguerir, which has been active since 2020. This new facility is designed to further UM6P’s ambition of becoming a key innovation hub on the African continent by bridging academic research, education, and entrepreneurship.
Strategically located in Rabat’s Technopolis, StartGate Rabat aims to foster high-impact innovation in four core areas: artificial intelligence, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and healthcare. The initiative is part of a broader vision to position UM6P as a continental leader in delivering advanced technological solutions with global potential.
UM6P President Hicham El Habti emphasized that this new campus reflects the university’s commitment to building an innovation ecosystem that can drive structural transformation in Morocco and across Africa. With a strong continental focus and an integrated model, the new hub is meant to turn groundbreaking ideas into tangible, exportable solutions with real-world impact.
Since the inception of StartGate in Benguerir, the program has supported over 1,600 startups—35% led by women and over 30% launched by members of the Moroccan diaspora. A network of more than 300 mentors and experts has helped these ventures collectively raise nearly $72 million in funding, accelerating their growth and helping them reach new markets.
StartGate Rabat builds on this momentum by bringing innovation closer to national decision-making centers, creating vital links between entrepreneurs, public institutions, investors, and established companies. It also reinforces the university’s nationwide network that connects its campuses in Benguerir, Rabat, and Laâyoune, all of which are linked to global hubs in France, Canada, and the United States.
Yassine Laghzioui, CEO of UM6P Ventures, noted that this new facility is not just another startup space—it represents a deliberate and strategic expansion of UM6P’s mission. Its goal is to support startups ready to scale, raise capital, and explore international markets. He described it as a vibrant, integrated campus that blends academia, research, and business activity, particularly in areas like economics, governance, and innovation-driven enterprise.
StartGate’s model supports entrepreneurs throughout the entire innovation pipeline—from incubation to prototyping, market entry, and commercialization. By enabling the transition from scientific research to industrial application, the campus plays a crucial role in developing practical technologies in agritech, green energy, healthtech, artificial intelligence, fintech, and retail.
Through this integrated approach, StartGate Rabat is set to become a cornerstone in UM6P’s broader ecosystem, further embedding the university’s founding pillars—education, research and development, and entrepreneurship—into the country’s future-facing development strategy.
