Moroccan start-ups facing the COVID-19 crisis: Impact and adopted measures

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 has led many governments to take drastic measures, which have strongly impacted the global start-up ecosystem. This research aims to explore and understand the direct and real impact of COVID-19 on Moroccan start-ups, as well as the measures adopted by the actors of this ecosystem to face it. To this end, we have adopted a qualitative method with an exploratory vocation, by administering an interview guide to the co-founders of three digital start-ups that have gone through support programs. We also targeted the president of Réseau Entreprendre Maroc for our study. The analysis of the data collected by our qualitative study consists of a thematic analysis based on the intersection of the results of a horizontal and vertical analysis of the collected data.  The results of our study clearly show that the COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on the activity of Moroccan start-ups. However, the latter were able to cope and adapt effectively thanks to their reactivity, their capacity to adapt and innovate, and the skills and expertise of the founder. Support structures have largely played their role in this context. In order to deepen the findings and results of this research, future studies need to be undertaken, while broadening the scope of the research to other start-ups, and adopting a client-oriented approach.

Keywords: COVID-19, health crisis, start-up, entrepreneurial support.

JEL Classification: H12

Paper type: Applied research