Ibtissam El Anzaoui, Deputy Director Financial Inclusion & Sustainable Development, Bank Al-Maghrib

Rural women in Morocco, who represent nearly 20% of the national population, remain among the most vulnerable segments of society. Limited access to education and decent employment opportunities continue to restrict their ability to secure stable and sustainable incomes.

While significant progress has been achieved in recent years, disparities persist. The schooling rate for rural girls aged 15 to 17 remains below 50%, with dropout rates hovering around 10%. Combined with restricted mobility and disproportionate household responsibilities, these structural barriers continue to limit their economic participation and full empowerment.

Recognizing that reliable data is the cornerstone of impactful policies, Bank Al-Maghrib launched in-depth research in 2020 focused on rural women socio-economic status. Conducted with support from AFI and the Fletcher School, this study included a nation-wide quantitative survey in this area that highlighted the significant gap between rural women and formal financial institutions. It further explored their financial aspirations and fears, identifying how tailored financial services can help them overcome their daily challenges and scale their businesses.

The survey findings generated critical insights not only for our institution but for the entire ecosystem. By fostering a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities for rural women, they created the foundation for coordinated action. This collective alignment has enabled us to shape a coherent, ambitious national initiative with o holistic vision, dedicated to advancing rural women’s economic empowerment.

Building rural women’s knowledge of business and finance

In response to the challenges identified through the survey, Bank Al-Maghrib, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, the National Office for the Development of Cooperation and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), launched a targeted initiative to strengthen rural women’s capacities and support their economic empowerment journey. As part of this initiative, women entrepreneurs received training on effective business management and on identifying and seizing growth opportunities, while highlighting the critical role of financial inclusion in supporting their journey from business creation to scale-up.

To ensure broad and sustainable replication, we developed two tailored guidebooks consolidating practical best practices for building resilient businesses: a simplified version designed for rural women entrepreneurs and a comprehensive version intended for stakeholders and trainers.

These tools are grounded in the recurring challenges and gaps identified through interviews and capacity-building workshops with rural women entrepreneurs. They were tested with target groups, both women entrepreneurs and prospective trainers, through dedicated capacity-building sessions and focus groups. This testing phase enabled us to refine the content and prepare the development of a nationwide roll-out action plan that takes into account regional and sectoral specificities.

Using technical and financial assistance from AFI, we have now begun a new phase of activity: the development of a second guidebook, which will focus on the financial and non-financial services available to rural women entrepreneurs.

Our ultimate objective is to ensure that rural women entrepreneurs across the country receive consistent guidance, clear messaging, and harmonized support throughout their entrepreneurial journey.

Lessons learnt from the last five years

Our experience highlights the importance of research as a necessary, preliminary step before setting out to devise solutions or initiatives in favor of rural populations, and particularly for rural women.

Similarly, we have learnt how important it is to adopt a holistic vision for rural women’s economic empowerment. Successful implementation depends on the coordination and commitment of a wide range of public and private stakeholders, and of civil society. It means having a shared vision and common goals.

We are excited about what we have achieved so far, and about what it could lead to, in terms of sowing the seeds for empowered, women-owned businesses to emerge and thrive across the nation.

And it is not just women in rural areas who will benefit, but society as a whole, with estimates that rural women’s economic inclusion could generate over $2.5 billion in GDP.

There are so many good reasons to continue along this path.