In Morocco, despite the expansion of the banking sector, millions of people continue to rely on a form of informal collective savings: the daret. This rotating system, based on pooling funds among members of the same group, is the Moroccan version of ROSCAs (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations), which are widespread across many regions of the world.
Flexible and based on trust and proximity, daret remains deeply rooted in the country’s social and economic dynamics. As part of my final thesis, defended on July 22, 2025, at the University of Pavia, titled “Informal Finance and Economic Development: The Role of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in Morocco”, I analyzed the resilience of this mechanism, its cultural foundations, its forms of adaptation, and its potential for digital transformation. The study is based on research conducted in both Morocco and the Moroccan diaspora, particularly in Italy.
Results show that 80% of respondents have participated in a daret at least once. Groups are small, rules are flexible, and amounts are adjusted to individual capacities. Daret operates without any banking intermediary, but relies on principles of solidarity, mutual support, and flexibility. Importantly, daret practices do not stop at national borders: many Moroccans living in Italy continue to participate in them. For them, these systems serve as both economic tools and emotional and cultural links to their country of origin.
In recent years, this practice has attracted the attention of the fintech sector. Across Africa, several platforms have already digitized the ROSCA model: MaTontine in Senegal, Tontine Plus in Cameroon, and Money Fellows in Egypt. The latter, with 8.5 million users and 350 partners, plans to launch its services in Morocco by the end of 2025. The initiative is backed by a $13 million investment, with a significant contribution from the Moroccan fund Al Mada Ventures and DPI Venture Capital.
The objective is clear: to digitize a practice that, according to Bank Al-Maghrib, involves 88% of Moroccans and circulates nearly 40 billion dirhams per year—the equivalent of 28% of national bank deposits. The platform targets a young, connected population that remains outside the formal banking system. Its strategy includes gradually adding services such as payments, transfers, micro-insurance, and micro-investments.
This transformation comes at an important moment for Morocco.
The country is preparing to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal, new economic and infrastructural opportunities are emerging. The growth in economic, tourism, and infrastructure flows makes it essential to develop agile and inclusive monetary management systems.
Digitizing daret could also ease both domestic and international transactions, especially for diaspora members who want to invest or send money home.
But this transformation raises several challenges.
How can we translate into digital platforms the trust that is central to the traditional daret? How can we ensure inclusion for people unfamiliar with digital tools?
How can we regulate without suppressing what already works?
These questions are crucial. Digitalization must not erase existing practices but build upon them. It requires flexible regulation that protects without constraining and a user-centered approach. The daret does not need to be replaced—it needs to be recognized, supported, and strengthened. From this perspective, the daret is not a relic of the past. It is a living resource.
It can become a strategic tool for building a more inclusive economy, one that is connected to its social realities—if it is properly valued.
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