on the sidelines of the Morocco Gaming Industry Expo 2025, the Minister Mehdi Bensaid signed a strategic partnership with GXC, a leading South Korean company. This partnership aims to strengthen Morocco’s position as a destination for international investment in the video game industry, a promising sector that is increasingly attracting the interest of Moroccan youth.

The Minister also attended, alongside Yoshiki Okamoto, a global legend in game development, the finals of the Street Fighter competition, a game he originally developed. Organized by the Ministry as part of the expo, the competition concluded with the awarding of cash prizes: 50,000 MAD for the first-place winner, 30,000 MAD for the second, and 20,000 MAD for the third. The event reflected the passion and creativity that characterize Moroccan youth in this field.

As part of ongoing efforts to support the gaming industry in Morocco, the Boost’in Gaming program is a unique opportunity designed specifically for Moroccan video game development studios. This program offers participants a wide range of benefits aimed at accelerating their growth and achieving success in international markets.

Through this program, participants will benefit from training and strategic advice provided by international experts in the video game industry, helping them develop both their creative vision and business strategy.

The program also offers access to international players to test and improve games before their official launch, providing developers with valuable insights into the global user experience.

In addition, participants will receive personalized support from entrepreneurship experts to help them prepare go-to-market strategies and funding plans to grow their businesses.

One of the program’s major highlights is the possibility to receive funding of up to 500,000 MAD from the Innov Invest Fund to support game development, offering a strong financial boost toward professionalism and sustainability.

To enhance commercial success, the program also helps increase project visibility and exposure, with the goal of attracting international publishers and investors.

The Boost’in Gaming program is implemented by IMPACT Lab in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and TAMWILCOM, as part of a strategic effort to drive the growth of Morocco’s digital gaming industry.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity! Apply before 25/05/2025 via the following link:

https://lnkd.in/e75ctSz6

The “Video Game Incubator” program, for the incubation of nine Moroccan startups specializing in the gaming field, was launched on Monday, March 10, 2025, in Rabat, in the presence of the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, a delegation from the French Embassy in Morocco, as well as several stakeholders in the sector.

This program aims to support Moroccan video game entrepreneurs in structuring, developing, and sustaining their businesses, while accelerating their skills development and strengthening synergies between Moroccan players in this ecosystem internationally.

Spanning five months of incubation and two months of follow-up, this program will offer the participating companies comprehensive training covering video game pre-production, brand and communication strategy, business management, production monitoring, as well as commercial and financial strategy.

It also includes exchanges of experiences with international gaming leaders, as well as partners and investors in the sector.

This project is part of the implementation of the Declaration of Intent signed between Morocco and France last October, under the presidency of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the French Republic Mr. Emmanuel Macron, relating to the support and structuring of the ecosystem of the cultural and creative video game industry, Mr. Bensaid told the press.

The gaming industry now holds increasing importance internationally, the minister emphasized, expressing the wish to see leading Moroccan companies emerge globally in this sector.

Thanks to this partnership with the French Embassy in Morocco, this program will support nine Moroccan startups invested in gaming, equipping them with the necessary tools to position themselves on the international market, he indicated, highlighting the importance of this initiative to strengthen the structuring and develop the gaming ecosystem in the Kingdom.

Support for cultural and creative industries, particularly the video game industry, constitutes a strong new focus of Franco-Moroccan cultural cooperation, which was initiated during the French President’s state visit to the Kingdom, said Agnès Humruzian, Cooperation and Cultural Action Advisor at the French Embassy in Rabat.

Gaming represents a new creative sector, a source of employment and geared towards youth, with promising prospects for partnerships between the two countries, Ms. Humruzian emphasized, who is also the Director General of the French Institute in Morocco, adding that it is a “very beautiful story that is being written with significant cultural and economic stakes.”

For his part, the founder and director of LLP (Level Link Partners), Julien Villedieu, explained that the “Video Game Incubator” program was designed by video game experts with the aim of supporting the development and structuring of the video game industry in Morocco.

Nine video game creation companies in Morocco will be supported by this program to bring them to a level of international skills and requirements, while connecting them to the industry globally, he added, considering that this extremely ambitious program lays one of the essential cornerstones for the development of a structured video game creation ecosystem in Morocco.

As part of the second edition of the Morocco Gaming Expo, which took place from July 2 to 5, 2025 The Moroccan gaming industry is buzzing with excitement as we celebrate the conclusion of the Final Pitch of the Innovative Mobile Game Ideas competition! This event showcased the incredible talent and creativity of Moroccan youth.

Three standout projects, each with a bold and unique vision, took home the top prizes. We extend our warmest congratulations to the winners:

• 1st Prize — TRICHROMA: Mohamed Ali Benyas (Cadi Ayyad University)
  
• 2nd Prize — SKHIRA GAME: Amine Saad Mohamed, Rihab Benchekroun, Aya Moussa, Oumayma Fanine (Hassan II University of Casablanca)
  
• 3rd Prize — SHEEP WITH GUNS: Moussaab El Mahraoui (SUPEMIR)

A huge thank you to all the participating universities for their high-quality contributions.

We are deeply grateful to our partners for their commitment to empowering young talent: Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, and Inwi_maroc. Your support is vital for the growth and development of the gaming industry in Morocco.

This competition is a testament to the fact that Moroccan youth are poised to become leaders in digital innovation. We look forward to seeing the incredible things these talented individuals will achieve next!

The Investment Charter provides a transparent and clear regulatory framework for investors. It establishes the fundamental objectives of the state, introduces various investment support mechanisms, defines the principles of their governance, and outlines the reform areas to be implemented to facilitate investment.

This charter is based on three pillars: financial support for investment, improving the business climate, and coordinating investment policies at the territorial level. It offers four mechanisms for supporting private investments.

The Investment Charter highlights key and priority sectors to attract investments, including industry, outsourcing, tourism, digital, renewable energy, waste transformation and valorization, logistics and transport, aquaculture, and the cultural industry.

In order to strengthen digital skills, Morocco has implemented a training bonus as part of its Morocco Digital 2030 strategy. The goal of this bonus is to develop a pool of digital talent by encouraging training and career transitions to digital professions, thus enabling Moroccan companies to seize the opportunities provided by digital transformation.

A bonus of 3.5% of the taxable gross income will be granted for each sustainable job in outsourcing professions, for a period of 5 years.

Investors working in the gaming industry will be eligible for this bonus upon setting up operations at Rabat Gaming City.

On April 16, on the sidelines of GITEX AFRICA in Marrakech, Minister Mehdi Bensaid signed a partnership agreement with OneCloud to strengthen the video game industry in Morocco, particularly through the upcoming Video Game City in Rabat. The agreement aims to jointly develop cloud gaming solutions tailored to the ecosystem of companies operating in the video game sector.

On March 3, 2025, Minister Mehdi Bensaid met with Mr. Hans Kornhaedie Saleh, Head of Garena for the Middle East. Garena is a globally renowned video game publisher, best known for its hit mobile game Free Fire, one of the most popular mobile games worldwide. During the meeting, Mr. Saleh highlighted Morocco’s growing momentum in developing the video game industry and presented his project aimed at supporting the expansion of Garena’s activities within the Kingdom.

On February 26, 2025, Benjamin Anseaume, CEO of TA Publishing (a subsidiary of Forever Entertainment Group, a major publisher on Nintendo Switch), signed a letter of intent with Mr. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd, Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, in the presence of Mrs. Rachida Dati, French Minister of Culture.

This agreement marks a key milestone in the development of Morocco’s gaming industry ecosystem. This project is part of the national dynamic aimed at positioning Morocco as the African hub of the gaming industry.

The project involves setting up a studio in Rabat with 50 to 100 employees in the long term, specializing in video game development. In this context, TA Publishing will mobilize its expertise to structure the project, while the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication will facilitate the installation through incentive measures, administrative support, and operational backing.

Quote from Benjamin Anseaume: “After two years of searching for international locations, Morocco has proven itself through its structured and visionary strategy. We are convinced that Rabat Gaming City will become a key hub for our growth.”

TA Publishing is a French video game development studio, a subsidiary of Forever Entertainment Group, one of the largest video game publishers on Nintendo Switch worldwide.

At the second edition of the Morocco Gaming Expo, held from July 2 to 6, 2025, the Valorant tournament thrilled fans with intense duels and impressive strategies. Team VOID WALKERS rose to the top to claim first place, closely followed by Team TO GLORY and Team XPROJEKT.

At the second edition of the Morocco Gaming Expo, held from July 2 to 6, 2025, the Street Fighter 6 tournament delivered thrilling fights and epic moments. It crowned player KINKO in first place, followed by player Watched Noobs and player POPEYE. This intense competition featured exceptional performances that lit up the expo stage.

At the second edition of the Morocco Gaming Expo, held from July 2 to 6, 2025, the Free Fire tournament brought together teams determined to win, facing off in fierce and intense battles. Team CLEAR VISION ES secured first place, followed by Team WASK in second, Team JOKO FORCE in third, Team XTREME JR in fourth, Team VAGOS in fifth, and Team AMATERAS in sixth.