Morocco offers more public support to entrepreneurs than most founders realize, but it is spread across several institutions, and many websites still describe programs that have changed or closed. This guide brings together the main schemes available in 2026, by stage of your project, with what each one offers, who it is for and where to apply.
Which program fits your stage?
- Testing an activity alone: the auto-entrepreneur status
- Creating or growing a very small business: Intelaka loans at a subsidized rate
- Investing at least MAD 1 million in equipment or capacity: the TPME support scheme of the Investment Charter
- Building an innovative startup: Innov Invest and the venture capital funds it supports
- Raising venture capital in digital: funds backed by the new Catalytic Startups Fund
1. The auto-entrepreneur status
The simplest way to start is the auto-entrepreneur status, created to bring small activities into the formal economy. Income tax is calculated directly on the turnover you actually collect: 0.5% for commercial, industrial and craft activities up to MAD 500,000 per year, and 1% for service providers up to MAD 200,000 per year. Auto-entrepreneurs are outside the scope of VAT.
Service providers should watch a less known limit: above MAD 80,000 of annual turnover with the same client, a heavier withholding tax applies to the excess.
You can lose the status if you do not declare, declare zero turnover from the second year after registration, stop paying your tax and social contributions for a year, or exceed the turnover caps two years in a row.
2. Intelaka: subsidized loans for small businesses
Launched in 2020, Intelaka is the flagship public program for financing very small businesses. It offers bank loans of up to MAD 1.2 million at a capped rate of 2% (1.75% in rural areas), with a public guarantee from Tamwilcom covering 80% of the bank's risk. It targets young entrepreneurs, auto-entrepreneurs, young companies and rural project holders.
- How to apply: always through a bank, never directly with Tamwilcom. All major Moroccan banks take part.
- Personal contribution: the program itself does not require one, but in practice banks often ask for 10% to 20% in cash.
- Eligibility details (company age, turnover ceiling, product) vary between sources: confirm them with your bank before building your plan.
3. The TPME support scheme: up to 30% of your investment
This is the most significant new measure for small and medium businesses. Created under the Investment Charter and operational since late 2025, it grants three cumulative bonuses, capped together at 30% of the eligible investment: a bonus for creating stable jobs, a territorial bonus for less developed provinces, and a sector bonus for priority activities such as basic pharmaceuticals, seafood processing, renewable energy, digital and artificial intelligence.
- Who: companies with annual turnover between MAD 1 million and MAD 200 million in one of the last three years, and companies created less than three years ago
- Project size: an investment between MAD 1 million and MAD 50 million, financed at least 10% from equity
- Where: applications are filed online with the Regional Investment Center (CRI) of your region, which reviews, approves and pays the bonuses
4. Innov Invest: public funding for innovative startups
Managed by Tamwilcom with World Bank support, Innov Invest finances innovative startups from the idea stage to venture capital, through grants and honor loans distributed by labelled incubators, then through partner VC funds. Read our complete guide to Innov Invest for the instruments and the application process.
5. The Catalytic Startups Fund: more venture capital for digital
Published on August 3, 2026, Decree No. 2.26.576 allows MAD 347 million to be invested over three years in venture capital funds that back digital startups. Led by the Ministry of Digital Transition, managed by Tamwilcom and built with the Mohammed VI Investment Fund and CDG, the scheme has preselected nine fund managers whose funds are expected to mobilize close to MAD 2.5 billion.
Startups do not apply to this fund directly. The money flows through the selected VC funds, so founders will access it by raising from those funds once they are operating.
It comes at a time when Moroccan startups struggle to raise: they captured only about $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2026, as we analyzed in Why Morocco Raised Only $2.1M in Q3 2026.
6. Forsa: closed to new applicants in 2026
Forsa is still widely cited, but no new call for applications is open in 2026. The program financed up to MAD 100,000 interest-free, including a grant of up to MAD 10,000, repayable over 10 years with a 2-year grace period. In 2026, only a one-year postponement of repayments is available to existing beneficiaries. Watch for a possible new edition.
Mistakes to avoid
- Relying on outdated or unreliable websites: several popular pages still describe Forsa as open or mix up program conditions. Check with the institution itself (Tamwilcom, your bank, the CRI).
- Assuming no personal contribution is needed: even when a program does not require one, banks usually do.
- Applying without a clear plan: every scheme reviews the project's viability, jobs and financing structure.
- Waiting to raise venture capital before using cheaper public money: as we explained in Do All Startups Need External Funding?, non-dilutive resources extend your runway.
For private funding options, see our map of startup investors in Morocco.