Casablanca Ranked 7th Best City for Startups in MENA
Casablanca, Morocco’s capital, has been named the seventh best city for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by the Belgium-based internet marketing service, Sortlist, according to Morocco World News.
Sortlist published small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) guide titled “The Best Places in the UK and MENA to Start a Small Business” on September 27.
The Moroccan economic capital, according to the report, has an average broadband speed (Mbps) of 27.2, a happiness score of 4.92/10, and a literacy rate of 72%, the lowest among the top 13 cities in the ranking.
Furthermore, the average monthly office rental price in Casablanca is £184.31 (MAD 14,426) per square foot, while electricity costs £9.60 (MAD 117) per kilowatt hour (p/kWh), the highest among the top-13 cities. In addition, the Moroccan city received a 4.58/10 for SME startup.
Also, Casablanca is a major financial and economic hub in Africa and the MENA region. The city was ranked by statista as Africa’s fourth best place to do business.
Similarly, Casablanca was ranked as the third top regional challenger for the MENA region’s biggest startup hubs in Startup Genome’s 2022 Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
According to Sortlist’s report, the MENA region has become a “popular choice” for new startups this year, with startups in the region raising $323.7 million (MAD 3.5 billion) across 66 deals in June 2022 alone.
What you should know about Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city, with a population of over 3.7 million people and over 33 companies listed on the S&P 500, a stock index of the world’s wealthiest 500 companies.
Also, the Casablanca Stock Exchange, which is MENA’s largest stock market, is located in the city, conferring the status of Morocco’s financial capital on the city.
The city was ranked 53rd in the Statista’s Global Financial Centers Index in 2021, outperforming Johannesburg, Doha, and Sao Paulo.
Casablanca is also home to a slew of international corporations and the Port of Casablanca, Morocco’s second-largest port.
Other Cities on the List
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the best city for startups in the MENA region, with a SME startup score of 7.82/10. Meanwhile, Dubai and Kuwait come in second and third place, with SME startup scores of 7.78/10 and 6.95/10, respectively.
Furthermore, Jordan’s Amman, Turkey’s Istanbul, and Bahrain’s Manama were ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Egypt’s Cairo was ranked eighth, Iraq’s Baghdad was ranked ninth, Lebanon’s Beirut was ranked tenth, Tunisia’s Tunis was ranked eleventh, Algeria’s Algiers was ranked twelveth, and Libya’s Tripoli was ranked thirteenth (13th).