Welcome to this week’s edition of our Weekly Risk Watch, offering insights into the economic, political, and security updates that could have significant implications for your business or daily life.
Economy and market:
- Morocco’s Investment Hub: The U.S. State Department warned that Morocco’s growing role as a regional investment hub could be undermined by bureaucracy and corruption, even as the country strengthens its position as a gateway to Africa.
Risk Factor: Weak administration, slow reforms, and limited oversight in key sectors, including telecoms, could hinder Morocco’s investment climate.
- Tax Authorities Target Inactive Companies: Moroccan tax authorities issued surprise notices to thousands of inactive companies, primarily along the Rabat–Casablanca corridor, requiring them to regularize their legal and tax status.
Risk Factor: Inactive companies involved in producing and distributing false invoices threaten tax revenue and financial transparency.
Political stability:
- GenZ protests: Hundreds of young Moroccans have rallied for seven straight days across major cities, demanding reforms to the country’s health and education systems and tougher measures to fight corruption.
Risk Factor: The sustained protests reflect growing public frustration, raising the risk of prolonged civil unrest and social instability if the government fails to address protesters’ demands.
- Pharmacists Plan Nationwide Protest: Moroccan pharmacists say thousands of pharmacies are struggling to survive and plan a national protest in Rabat on October 23, citing ignored reforms, outdated laws, and unilateral government policies.
Risk Factor: Continued government inaction and lack of sector reforms risk pushing pharmacies toward bankruptcy, threatening public access to reliable medicine, and undermining the stability and credibility of the entire profession.
- Students Boycott Exams: Students at Moulay Ismail University protested the switch from open enrollment to limited intake, boycotting exams originally scheduled for September 23.
Risk Factor: The sudden administrative change disrupted admissions, prompting student unrest and exam delays.
- Medicine Reimbursement: Pharmacists warned that just 157 medicines account for more than half of all drug reimbursements, with many distributed outside pharmacies, complicating tracking and safe usage.
Risk Factor: Without reforms to pricing, legal frameworks, and oversight of drug distribution, the sector risks failing patients and undermining Morocco’s broader health system.
- Man Arrested for Digital Incitement: A man in Casablanca was arrested for disseminating edited foreign protest videos combined with domestic footage to incite demonstrations on September 27–28, 2025.
Risk Factor: The use of social media to spread manipulated content risks misleading the public and promoting unrest
Cross-border stability:
- Separatist Networks Exploit Youth Protests: Separatist networks tied to Algeria and the Polisario Front are seizing on Morocco’s youth-led protests to push a separatist agenda, promoting unrest in southern cities and framing demonstrations as evidence of national fractures.
Risk Factor: The digital amplification of protests by external actors risks blurring the line between legitimate social demands and the decades-old dispute over the Sahara, and attempts to suggest cracks in Morocco’s unity.
- Criminal Organization Dismantled: Spanish police, in cooperation with Morocco’s DGSN, dismantled a criminal organization operating between Spain and Morocco by seizing over 11 tons of hashish in Málaga and Algeciras.
Risk Factor: The operation highlights the ongoing risk of cross-border drug trafficking.
Security:
- Violent youth clashes: Riots in several cities on Wednesday injured 354 people, including 326 security forces, and caused severe damage to vehicles, public buildings, and private property, with estimated losses potentially exceeding 210 million dirhams.
- Fake News on Business Closures in Casablanca: Authorities say no order has been given to close businesses or evacuate workplaces, a day after riots linked to Gen Z protests in various cities.
Risk Factor: The spread of false information on social media could cause widespread confusion, prompting many to question what is happening.
- Youth-Led Protests Escalate into Violent Riots: Morocco’s Interior Ministry reported that recent demonstrations linked to youth-led protests spiraled into violent riots, involving minors in stone-throwing, arson, attacks on security facilities, and resulting in three deaths and widespread property damage.
Risk Factor: The heavy involvement of minors and extreme violence in these protests poses serious threats to public order, safety, and property.
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