Benguerir: A Strong Deep Tech and Startup Hub for Global Innovators in Morocco and Beyond

Empowering Talent Through Entrepreneurship & Venturing Programs

At UM6P, supporting entrepreneurs means empowering talent to empower Africa, starting with world-class support programs available to entrepreneurs across the continent that go across the stages from ideation to access to market. Among its youth-centered programs, the UM6P AgriYoung Innovate National Competition aims to stimulate agricultural entrepreneurship and strengthen the ecosystem for the benefit of young entrepreneurs in rural areas with innovative projects in the fields of digital and climate-smart agriculture.

“In 2023, Morocco's startup landscape has shown remarkable vigor, a trend we see persisting into 2024," says Yassine Laghzioui, CEO of UM6P Ventures. "We're witnessing a diversification beyond Fintech, with Agritech and Greentech startups gaining traction in Africa, driven by urgent environmental challenges and the continent's vast agricultural potential. There's a notable upsurge in African talent, pivotal for startups as they navigate local and regional challenges and, increasingly, these startups are crafting solutions with a global market in mind.”

StartGate is the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic startup campus dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Founded with a vision to support and nurture startups in Morocco and Africa, StartGate serves as a launchpad for aspiring entrepreneurs, providing them with the resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities essential for their growth and success. “StartGate is a dynamic space where young companies can set up, brainstorm, and develop their products, all while absorbing the creative energy around them,” says Nair. “This environment is designed not just to foster innovation, but to transform groundbreaking ideas into successful businesses.”

UM6P Ventures is the investment arm of UM6P, founded as a vehicle for the university to advance entrepreneurship and accelerate scientific innovation in Morocco and Africa. Alongside partners, it invests in pre-seed and seed startups with a focus on Deep Tech and is the first and only Deep Tech fund in Morocco. As one of the most influential venture capital firms in Africa, UM6P Ventures invests in Deep Tech startups and provides them with tailored capital and advanced talent sourcing, subject domain expertise, and an ability to access best-in-class equipment and infrastructure from universities and research centers at both national and international levels.

In the Deep Tech sector, UM6P Ventures emphasizes sovereignty in key fields such as Agriculture, Healthcare, Chemicals, and Greentech. Successful portfolio examples include Sens-Things, which recently launched T3, a secure, automated platform utilizing Blockchain technology. T3 enables high school graduates to authenticate their diplomas and grade reports instantly and securely, ensuring credibility through a synchronized process.

Morocco-based AI ultrasound startup DeepEcho achieved 95% segmentation accuracy through algorithms that are able to measure the main fetal structures with extreme precision based on one of the world’s biggest annotated fetal ultrasound image databases. B2B Ecommerce and Fintech platform Chari that allows traditional proximity store owners in Morocco to order products and have them delivered. The platform has onboarded over 20,000 food businesses in Morocco, and expanded into Tunisia and Ivory Coast. Produce procurement startup Terraa raised a $1.5 million round in 2023 with UM6P Ventures alongside other investors to bring safe and affordable food to hundreds of millions of people in Africa.

UM6P’s additional startup support programs include The Entrepreneur Academy at UM6P, which provides the skills and tools to identify, evaluate, and execute entrepreneurial opportunities. The U-Founders incubation program supports a global community of researchers and entrepreneurs engaged in the development of the African continent. In collaboration with MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund, the UM6P Explorer Innovation Fund provides personalized education and business experiences for innovators, including seed funding and mentorship.

The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem at UM6P has supported more than 800 businesses, including a cohort of startups. Its main goal is to launch Spinoffs – with six already launched, this critical component is at the heart of its work. Benguerir is also home to 40 incubators and accelerators – six of which are housed at UM6P – and UM6P is one of 10 venture funds in the ecosystem.

UM6P’s Technology Transfer Office serves as a valorization arm, actively scouting and evaluating inventions to refine them into fully developed innovations prepared for deployment. Their achievements include submitting 99 patents, registering 47 trademarks, establishing three startups, securing four license agreements, educating over 600 students on intellectual property, and hosting more than 10 events focused on IP and technology transfer.

The Emergence of Deep Tech

The totality of these efforts work to support entrepreneurship and innovation across sectors, with a particular spotlight on the emergence of Deep Tech startups throughout Morocco leveraging UM6P infrastructure, expertise, and talent to thrive. In Benguerir, startups are harnessing Deep Tech to walk from the lab to market.

The convergence around Deep Tech has built a support system and active community, allowing entrepreneurs to source potential co-founders, find access to funding, and push innovation in the industry. UM6P’s IP protection and valorization efforts have aided 11 startups, 234 filed patents, four license agreements, and six spinoff companies established in the last five years.

“Benguerir is on a clear path to becoming a significant Deep Tech hub in Africa,” says Nair. “UM6P has already set up an infrastructure that could rival the leading tech centers around the world.” That world-class environment includes the UM6P Startup Studio, a training and development program that helps entrepreneurs build successful ventures and is soon deploying a Deep Tech accelerator. The Deep Tech Summit was held in Benguerir in May 2024 and featured industry experts including Charlette N'Guessan, Data Solutions and Ecosystem Lead at AMINI, a Deep Tech startup leveraging SpaceTech and AI to tackle environmental data scarcity in Africa.

Welcoming Global Partnerships

As the Benguerir startup ecosystem continues to mature, the nation welcomes innovators both locally and globally to support its emergence as a tech hub. Its collaborative spirit encourages dialogue with peers to exchange expertise, while workshops with national and international organizations are hosted to co-design startup support programs and amplify dealflow. Through policy dialogue with regulators and work with key players on the public level, Benguerir will lift the ecosystem and its members.

Existing partnerships with Deep Tech leaders including Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, and the U.S. offer a global representation of Benguerir’s collaborations, while opportunities with Egypt, India, Shanghai, and South Korea offer new avenues for innovation. Ultimately, Benguerir aims to learn more, share knowledge, and build success stories with their partners.

As Benguerir looks toward the future, it envisions an open ecosystem where global startups can come to realize their dreams. Its nurturing environment is ripe for the emergence of unicorns, and its attractive resources create the ideal place to thrive. As UM6P opens its doors to the world, they share one message: we welcome and support you.