Morocco's creatives are making billions, so why can't they get a bank loan?

Morocco’s creative sector has grown into a multi-billion-dirham industry, but getting a bank loan remains out of reach for most in the business.

An International Finance Corporation (IFC) report puts the size of the sector at about MAD 43 billion in 2023, which equals roughly 2.4% of Morocco’s GDP and supports more than 116,000 jobs.

But despite the magnitude of the sector, creative businesses in Morocco receive less than 0.5% of total loans. Out of about 9,500 companies operating in the sector, only 3% had access to formal financing in 2021.

So why is there such a gap between growth and funding?

The main issue is how banks define “safe” businesses. Traditional lenders in Morocco prefer companies with physical assets that can be used as collateral. That means factories, buildings, or equipment that can be repossessed if loans aren’t repaid.

But most creative businesses don’t work that way.

A film studio, a music producer, a graphic designer or a digital content creator may generate real income, but their value is mostly in intellectual property, brand identity, and future contracts, not in physical assets. And banks are still not fully set up to evaluate that kind of value.

As a result, even profitable creative firms can be seen as “high risk” on paper.

That risk perception pushes most entrepreneurs to rely on personal savings, family support, or informal lending networks as it is cheaper, faster, and more accessible than trying to pass strict bank requirements.

The IFC says there’s a mismatch between the growth of the creative sector and the bank loan regulations. The problem isn’t that the sector lacks demand or talent but the financial system hasn’t caught up with how modern creative industries actually operate.

Smaller loan amounts also limit access. Creative firms typically seek modest financing, while banks focus on larger, more profitable lending opportunities.

What makes the banks even more cautious is the unpredictability of income in the creative sector. Many creative businesses are small, project-based, and irregular in income. A filmmaker might earn heavily from one project and then wait months for the next. A designer may depend on seasonal contracts or international clients.

Yet the same unpredictability hasn’t stopped the sector from expanding. Morocco’s creative economy has been boosted by young talent, social media platforms, streaming services, and rising global interest in African and Arabic cultural production.

That’s the core contradiction the IFC report revealed: a sector contributing billions to the economy, but still largely treated as financially informal by the institutions meant to support it.

The fix has to come from finance reform by adopting tools like revenue-based lending, intellectual property valuation, and public guarantee schemes that reduce bank risk.