“This dynamic is the fruit of the commitment and collaboration of local authorities and socio-economic actors in the region,” noted Ms. Balbzioui Alaoui, also vice-president of the CGEM Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, in a interview given to MAP, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
In this regard, she affirmed that AFEM-TTA played a key role in supporting the socio-economic inclusion of women, noting that in 2023, the creation of businesses by women recorded an increase. growth of 15% within the Regional Association’s incubator, adding: “we were able to enhance the brand image of the female entrepreneur, who has regained an important place in the economic landscape of our region”.
Asked about the main obstacles that still hinder the development of female entrepreneurship in general, and in the Northern region in particular, the president of AFEM-TTA noted that women entrepreneurs face a lack of access to financing. , persistent gender stereotypes, and sometimes cultural norms that can limit their entrepreneurial ambitions.
According to her, these women also have to face several challenges, such as the constant search for financing, the fight against economic inequalities and the development of their projects, noting that women entrepreneurs share the general challenges of entrepreneurs, but must also manage family responsibilities, while trying to find a good balance between professional and personal life, fighting against stereotypes as well as the social perception of their skills.
“The challenges vary depending on the socio-economic context, education and place of residence, requiring, in this regard, additional efforts, especially for women in vulnerable situations,” she continued, specifying that women, particularly those in precarious situations, must make additional efforts to avoid being limited to informal, low-skilled jobs, and to be able to develop their entrepreneurial activities in sectors with high added value.
In this context, Ms. Balbzioui Alaoui affirmed that the close collaboration between the CGEM-TTA and the AFEM-TTA actively promotes female entrepreneurship, stressing that awareness-raising, support and skills-building actions are deployed, including mentoring and networking programs, and partnerships to facilitate administrative procedures and access to financing, both for existing businesses and new creations.
Among the initiatives launched is the AFEM-TTA Incubator, an integrated platform, set up in partnership with the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University and the ENCG of Tangier, with the involvement of all partners, notably the CGEM, the Regional Investment Center (CRI), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region (CCIS-TTA), the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills ( ANAPEC), the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), Banks, TAMWILCOM, and the Belgian Association for the Promotion of Education and Training Abroad (APEFE), among others, -she continued, noting that this synergy orchestrated by AFEM has significantly contributed to the development of female entrepreneurship.
In this regard, she noted that AFEM-TTA, being aware of the importance of support which contributes not only to transforming ideas into effective and bankable projects, but also to supporting female entrepreneurs, in order to have more chances of success and growth in the post-creation phase, has set up this incubator, which offers a complete system which contributes not only to creating new opportunities for women project leaders, but also to improving the development indicators of our country in terms of socio-economic inclusion.
Ms. Balbzioui Alaoui indicated that AFEM-TTA supported more than 150 projects in 2023, 65% of which are holding up in several sectors of activity, in particular services with 30% of projects, Finance-accounting (25% ), commerce (20%), agriculture (13%), construction (7%) and industry (5%).
She considered that encouraging women to become more involved in entrepreneurship requires targeted awareness campaigns around facilitating access to resources, promoting female models of success, strengthening support networks and implementation of policies favorable to equal economic opportunities, adapted to each context.
After welcoming the tangible progress made by Morocco in the implementation of several programs aimed at encouraging investment, Ms. Balbzioui Alaoui estimated that female entrepreneurship is emerging as an inevitable condition for development and emergence. of the national economy, emphasizing that there is still a way to go in the face of persistent challenges, with the development of the global economy.
The consolidation of synergy between all stakeholders, public authorities, development partners and the private sector, will certainly contribute to making Moroccan SMEs more competitive and productive on their national and international market, she concluded.