Morocco has topped the African continent’s business climate rankings for the first time, securing an overall score of 3.9 out of 5 in the 2025–2026 edition of the annual barometer published by the Conseil Français des Investisseurs en Afrique (CIAN). The survey, based on responses from several hundred foreign and domestic company executives operating across the continent, evaluates 39 criteria ranging from infrastructure and taxation to human resources quality and the legal environment. Morocco’s score places it ahead of Mauritius at 3.4, Uganda at 3.3, and both Algeria and South Africa at 3.2.
The ranking reflects structural strengths that investors have recognized over successive survey cycles. Morocco’s road network receives ratings in the highest tier of 4 to 5 out of 5, backed by an extensive motorway system linking Tangier to Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, and Agadir, as well as the Tanger Med port complex, one of the largest in Africa. Workforce quality and the fiscal environment both score in the 3.1 to 3.8 range, with business leaders citing the country’s engineering and technical training institutions, alongside recent progress in tax digitization and procedural simplification.
In terms of profitability in 2025, Morocco ranks fifth on the continent — behind Guinea Conakry, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda — confirming its status not merely as a stable destination but as a commercially productive one. For 2026 investment intentions, Morocco ranks third, trailing only Uganda and Guinea Conakry, with investors targeting renewable energy, green hydrogen, defense industry, business process outsourcing, and digital services. The kingdom’s geographical position between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, combined with its free trade agreements with the EU, the US, and several African nations, is cited as a critical differentiator.
Two areas of weakness are identified in the report. Investment incentives score between 2.6 and 3.3 out of 5, with executives citing administrative complexity, slow disbursement of approved state support, and insufficient clarity for small and medium-sized enterprises despite the 2022 Investment Charter. Import financing receives a similarly middling score, with companies pointing to foreign currency access constraints, documentary credit processing delays, and collateral requirements as persistent frictions — particularly for SMEs reliant on imported inputs.
The CIAN barometer positions Morocco well ahead of its Maghreb peers: Algeria scores 3.2, while Tunisia and Egypt occupy lower positions in the comparative rankings. South Africa, though economically larger, is hampered in investor perception by chronic electricity shortages and security concerns. To maintain its leadership, analysts recommend two priority reforms: radical simplification of the investment incentive access framework, potentially through a genuinely effective one-stop shop, and measures to ease import financing for smaller operators.
