PROMET 4 Al Haouz: Marrakech’s Recovery Story

Marrakech has always carried a certain resilience. This week, that spirit took center stage at the Emerging Business Factory. On Thursday, June 25, the Emerging Business Foundation (EBF) closed PROMET 4 Al Haouz with its “Emerging People” event. The gathering brought together institutional, financial and economic partners from across the region. Launched in January 2025 with Germany’s GIZ and the Marrakech-Safi Regional Investment Center (CRI), the program set out to rebuild entrepreneurial life in a province still recovering from the 2023 earthquake. Ten months later, however, the results speak for themselves.

From Emergency to Opportunity

The earthquake had struck at the heart of Al Haouz’s economy. Tourism, artisanal craft and local terroir products all took the hit. Still, infrastructure collapsed, distribution networks broke down, and incomes simply stopped. In response, EBF built a methodology shaped for the terrain itself. Furthermore, it combined cross-sector training, sector specific coaching, institutional networking and B2B matchmaking. In addition, the approach mixed in person sessions in rural communities with digital tools through the Founders.ma and Tamwil.ma platforms. As a result, an otherwise scattered recovery effort gained real structure.

The Numbers Behind PROMET 4 Al Haouz

In under ten months, PROMET 4 Al Haouz reached 1,284 beneficiaries. This figure includes entrepreneurs, small businesses, self employed workers and cooperatives. Women represented 68 percent of those supported. That number reflects a genuine commitment to female economic inclusion in rural and semi urban Al Haouz. Moreover, the program referenced 100 cooperatives and small enterprises in a professional catalogue. This catalogue now circulates among established regional businesses. As a result, 25 commercial contracts are currently being finalized through matchmaking with CGEM Marrakech-Safi and the Sidi Ghanem Business Association. Yet these deals open durable outlets for ventures long confined to informal trade.

Cooperatives Leading the Comeback

Three cooperatives illustrate this momentum particularly well. They are Coopérative Yager, the Natural Dye Cooperative, and Coopérative Outmaquite Aghbalou. Each has been relaunched and professionalized. In addition, each is steadily entering regional and national distribution circuits. For a region whose textile and craft traditions run deep, this progress carries weight well beyond the balance sheet. It signals that artisanal know how can still find its place in a modern, structured economy.

A Shared Commitment from Local Institutions

Nisrine Dahmani, general director of the Emerging Business Foundation, sees the program as proof of something larger. The right methodology, the right partners and real proximity on the ground let entrepreneurs do more than simply recover. They can integrate lastingly into formal economic circuits. She points to the 68 percent female participation rate and the 25 pending contracts as the clearest signs of impact. Above all, the foundation intends to apply this model to other territories. The closing event itself drew a wide institutional coalition. It included the CRI, ANAPEC, ODCO, ONCA, Entraide Nationale, CGEM, AESG, Banque Populaire, the Social Affairs Directorate and the National Tourism Confederation. The gathering therefore became a moment for strategic networking, not just celebration.

A Model Worth Repeating

PROMET 4 Al Haouz shows that humanitarian urgency and entrepreneurial discipline can work together. EBF targeted the province’s core value chains. In addition, it paired close, on the ground support with digital tools. The foundation now considers this model reproducible elsewhere. Furthermore, it plans to share its findings with development actors across Morocco. Other regions facing post disaster reconstruction may benefit too. For Al Haouz, however, the story is already personal. Behind every statistic stands an entrepreneur, a cooperative and a household that found its footing again.