Rethinking Morocco’s entrepreneurial ecosystem: a conceptual framework for the interdependent constraints of financing, regulation and the market

Abstract

Background. Entrepreneurship plays a central role in Morocco’s economic diversification strategy, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups account for nearly 90 per cent of the productive sector. However, the ecosystem remains hampered by persistent structural barriers. Objective. This article proposes a conceptual framework linking three interdependent constraints—access to finance, the regulatory environment and market dynamics—and the coordination of the actors that connect them, in order to move beyond fragmented sectoral analyses.

Method. The approach is conceptual: it synthesises a body of fifty recent studies (2021–2026) to identify underlying theoretical patterns and construct an integrative model, based on systemic approaches to entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Conceptual results. The model highlights that constraints do not simply add up but reinforce one another: credit rationing, regulatory fragmentation and information asymmetries form a vicious circle from which financial innovation (crowdfunding, Islamic finance, sukuk) cannot break free without institutional coordination.

Implications. The framework provides decision-makers with a cross-cutting analytical framework and identifies priority areas for empirical research.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; Morocco; access to finance; regulatory environment; entrepreneurial ecosystem; crowdfunding; SMEs.

Received Date: April 21, 2026

Accepted Date: May 12, 2026

Published Date: June 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/742