Support Program for Cultural and Creative Industries in Morocco

Deadline: 22-May-25

The “Support for Cultural and Creative Industries in Morocco” program complements existing measures to support entrepreneurship in Morocco.

It aims to connect CCIs with the country’s network of incubators, accelerators, and clusters, particularly in the tech sector.

Objectives

The general objective of this call is to contribute to the strengthening of the cultural and creative industries sector as a vector of economic development and social integration of young people in Morocco.
The funded projects will contribute to the development of the creative ecosystem in the country, the support and development of creative entrepreneurship in Morocco and the creation of jobs in this sector through concrete, driving and sustainable initiatives.
The proposed projects must therefore demonstrate their structuring approach for the ecosystem, their capacity to have a lasting impact on the sector. Certain sectors are considered promising in terms of employment and value creation and in terms of youth appeal; non-exhaustive list: cinema and audiovisual (including video games, animation) and digital media, music, performing arts, design. These sectors may be specifically targeted by certain projects.
The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
- Lot 1: Support and financing of young ICC entrepreneurs
  - Support structuring projects to support and finance Moroccan cultural and creative businesses led by young entrepreneurs with a view to acceleration;
  - Indirectly, strengthen the structures and support systems for ICC companies.
- Lot 2: Deployment of targeted ICC training
  - Support the structuring of the training offer and capacity building in cultural and creative entrepreneurship to meet the demand for skills (of young people in particular) specific to the sector to improve its competitiveness.
- Lot 3: Support for joint Moroccan-European initiatives targeted by ICC
  - Contribute to promoting the Moroccan creative ecosystem on the international scene, strengthening its attractiveness and developing Moroccan-European partnerships aimed at consolidating it.
- Lot 4: Information and support for ICCs (“Creative Morocco Gate”)
  - Facilitate access to support and/or financing for Moroccan creative businesses through information and technical support for project leaders to facilitate their access to financing for programs, including European ones.

Lots

The priorities of this call for proposals are:
- Lot 1: Support and financing of young cultural and creative entrepreneurs
  - Provide technical and financial support to projects led by young cultural and creative entrepreneurs (18-35 years old) who are already established, in an acceleration approach
  - Added value: target established cultural companies with an ICC/digital approach or ICC/local development.
- Lot 2: Deployment of targeted ICC training
  - Contribute to the development of skills in cultural and creative entrepreneurship for artists and operators from the sector (legal, marketing, digital, internationalization, etc.)
  - Contribute to the development of specific ICC skills in intermediate support structures cultural businesses (incubator, training organization, technoparks, etc.);
  - Contribute to the development of skills of cultural professionals and businesses in one or more ICC sectors in need and with high employment potential (non-exhaustive list: cinema, audiovisual (including video games, animation) and digital media, music performing arts, design).
  - In a cross-disciplinary manner, the projects will contribute to the development of digital skills in cultural and creative entrepreneurship taking into account the concrete impact of digital technology on the sector’s professions/sectors.
- Lot 3: Support for joint Moroccan-European initiatives targeted by ICC
  - Provide technical and financial support to partnerships between Moroccan and European creative structures or networks – The partnerships supported may notably concern the management and animation of creative hubs, spaces, brownfield sites, or the implementation of joint projects (e.g. co-production, etc.) (non-exhaustive).
  - Projects may focus on partnerships likely to mobilize young people and their creativity (e.g.: audiovisual and digital arts (including cinema, video games, animation), music, performing arts, design, etc.) (non-exhaustive).
- Lot 4: Information and support for ICCs (“Creative Morocco Gate”)
  - Deployment of a platform/space (“Gate”) for monitoring, advice and support for stakeholders for participation in entrepreneurship/ICC support programs.
  - Raise awareness/communicate with ICC stakeholders to raise awareness of financing opportunities, highlight support measures and financing available to Moroccan ICC companies.
  - The activities must be carried out in consultation and collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the relevant ministries and public and private institutions (including associations) including territorial, and funding bodies.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 6,900,000.
Indicative envelope per batch:
- Lot 1: Support and financing of young cultural and creative entrepreneurs: EUR 2,500,000
  - minimum amount: EUR 2,400,000 and maximum amount: EUR 2,500,000
- Lot 2: Deployment of targeted ICC training: EUR 1,500,000
  - minimum amount: EUR 400,000 and maximum amount: EUR 500,000
- Lot 3: Support for targeted joint Moroccan-European initiatives ICC: EUR 1,500,000
  - minimum amount: EUR 1,400,000 and maximum amount: EUR 1,500,000
- Lot 4: Information and support for ICCs (“Creative Morocco Gate”): EUR 1,400,000
  - minimum amount: EUR 1,300,000 and maximum amount: EUR 1,400,000

Duration

Lot 1: Support and financing of young cultural and creative entrepreneurs
- The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 36 months nor exceed 45 months.
Lot 2: Deployment of targeted ICC training
- The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 24 months nor exceed 45 months.
Lot 3: Support for joint Moroccan-European initiatives targeted by ICC
- The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 24 months nor exceed 45 months.
Lot 4: Information and support for ICCs (“Creative Morocco Gate”)
- The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 36 months nor exceed 45 months.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- be a legal person and belong to one of the following categories of organizations: non-governmental organization, public sector operator, semi public or private operator, and
- be effectively established in a Member State of the European Union or in one of the other eligible states as indicated in the IVCDCI910 and
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and the affiliated entity(ies), without acting as an intermediary, and
- have carried out activities related to the cultural and creative industries
The lead applicant of Moroccan nationality may act either individually or with one or more co-applicants.

For more information, visit EC.