Setting up your company or brand in Morocco
Morgan & James Realty helps foreign companies and brands establish themselves in Morocco. We find and secure your premises, choose the right city or free zone, manage the fit-out, and coordinate the local legal and accounting partners who handle your company registration. You get one point of contact on the ground, working in English and Arabic, from market study to opening day.
For a foreign business, the core facts are these. Morocco lets foreign companies own 100% of a Moroccan business in most sectors, with no local partner required. You can set up on the mainland or inside a free zone, and the free zones carry real tax and customs advantages. Profits and dividends can be sent back to your home country if the foreign investment is declared correctly when you fund the company. And Morocco gives you tariff-free access to a market of more than a billion people across Africa, Europe, and the Arab world through its trade agreements.
This page explains what we do, where to set up, how the free zones work, and the questions foreign companies ask before they enter Morocco.
Why companies are choosing Morocco?
Morocco has spent twenty years turning itself into a base for companies that want to serve Europe, Africa, and the Middle East from one place. The result is a country that now builds cars, planes, and electronics for export, runs one of Africa’s largest ports, and hosts the regional offices of global firms.
The case for a foreign company comes down to position, cost, and access.
On position, Morocco sits fourteen kilometres from Europe at the Strait of Gibraltar. Tanger Med is among the busiest ports on the continent and connects directly to hundreds of ports worldwide. On cost, salaries, premises, and operating expenses run well below European levels, while the workforce is young, multilingual, and increasingly trained for industry and services. On access, Morocco holds free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, Turkey, several Arab states, and is part of the African Continental Free Trade Area. A product made in Morocco can reach a vast market without tariffs.
Two more things matter for timing. Morocco is co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, and the build-out of airports, rail, stadiums, and hospitality is creating openings for brands across retail, food, construction, and services. And the government actively courts foreign investment with incentives, especially inside the free zones.
What Morgan & James does for foreign companies?
We help you choose where to set up
Site selection is the decision that shapes your costs, your tax position, and your access to talent and logistics. Before anything else, we study your business and tell you whether you belong in Casablanca, at Tanger Med, in Kenitra, in a free zone, or somewhere else, and why. A manufacturer exporting to Europe belongs near the port. A services firm wants a different address from a factory.
We find and secure your premises
Whether you need an office, a flagship retail store, a restaurant unit, a warehouse, or an industrial plot, we source it on and off market, check the title and the zoning, and negotiate the lease or the purchase. For commercial property, we confirm the building is permitted for your use, meets current safety rules, and can be fitted out for what you actually need. We hold deposits through a notary, not the landlord.
We manage the fit-out and the opening
Securing the space is half the job. We oversee the fit-out, coordinate contractors, and manage the works so your store, office, or facility is ready to open on schedule. For a retail brand, that means the flagship is built to your standards. For a manufacturer, it means the unit is operational.
We coordinate your company formation
Registering a Moroccan company, setting up the tax and social security files, and opening a corporate bank account are handled by licensed local lawyers and accountants. We bring in the right partners, manage them on your behalf, and keep the process moving so you are not chasing five providers from abroad. This is coordination, not legal advice, and the formation work is done by the qualified firms we work with.
We manage the property after you open
Mainland or free zone: how to decide?
The main free zones we work with
Tanger Med Zones sit beside the port at Tangier and host automotive, aerospace, textiles, and logistics operations exporting straight into Europe.
Casablanca Finance Cityis the financial and services hub, built for regional headquarters, banks, insurers, and professional firms using Morocco as a base for Africa.
Atlantic Free Zone Kenitra is the automotive cluster, anchored by major carmakers and their suppliers.
Zenata and other industrial zones around Casablanca serve logistics, light industry, and distribution.
If your sector points to a zone not listed here, we will find it and assess it for you.
Premises by type
A flagship or retail store lives or dies on location and footfall. We focus on the prime retail streets and malls in Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tangier, and we confirm the unit is zoned and permitted for retail before you sign.
An office needs the right address, the right connectivity, and a lease that fits your growth. Casablanca, and Casablanca Finance City in particular, holds most of the serious office stock. Rabat suits firms wanting a quieter, institutional base.
A warehouse or logistics centre needs road and port access above all. We steer these toward Tanger Med, the Casablanca corridor, and Kenitra.
A factory or industrial unit turns on power, logistics, labour, and incentives. The free zones are usually the answer, and we match the plot to your process.
A restaurant or hospitality unit needs licensing as much as location. We check the operating permits and the classification, not just the rent.
Cities for foreign businesses
Casablanca is Morocco’s economic capital and the natural home for offices, services, regional headquarters, and retail. It holds the deepest commercial property market in the country and the Casablanca Finance City hub.
Tangier pairs the Tanger Med port with major free-zone industry. The base for export manufacturing, logistics, and any company serving Europe.
Kenitra has become Morocco’s automotive centre, with the Atlantic Free Zone and a growing supplier base.
Rabat is the political capital, calmer and institutional, suited to firms that want proximity to government and a stable professional setting.
Marrakech is the tourism and lifestyle market. The place for hospitality brands, retail aimed at visitors, and food and beverage concepts.
Why work with Morgan & James?
You deal with one team, in your language, instead of assembling a cast of local providers from abroad.
We work for you, not the landlord, so we negotiate the lease and the price in your favour. We check every premise legally before you commit, so you do not inherit a zoning or permit problem. We coordinate the lawyers and accountants who form your company, so the whole entry moves as one process. And we stay on after you open, managing the property and finding more space as you grow.
Examples
These scenarios are illustrative, not guaranteed outcomes. Replace details with real cases before publishing.
A European fashion brand wants its first North African flagship. We secure a prime retail unit on a leading Casablanca shopping street, confirm the retail zoning, negotiate the lease, and manage the fit-out to the brand’s specification while our partners register the local company.
An automotive supplier needs an export base for Europe. We place it inside a Tangier free zone near the port, match the plot to its production needs, and coordinate the formation and customs setup with local partners.
A regional services firm wants an African headquarters. We secure office space in Casablanca Finance City, advise on the address and the lease terms, and bring in the partners to handle registration and the CFC application.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company own 100% of a business in Morocco?
What type of company do foreign businesses usually set up in Morocco?
How long does it take to set up a company in Morocco?
What are the tax advantages of a free zone in Morocco?
Free zones offer reduced corporate tax, customs exemptions on imported inputs, and simpler procedures, aimed mainly at exporters. The exact rates, the years they apply for, and the eligibility conditions change over time. We map your model against the current incentives before you choose.
Can a foreign company send its profits out of Morocco?
Do I need to be in Morocco to set up my company?
Can you help with both the premises and the company registration?
Which city is best for a foreign company in Morocco?
Do you work in English and Arabic?
Yes. Our team works in English, French and Arabic, and Moroccan documents are usually in French and Arabic, so we translate and explain every contract and lease before you sign.
Talk to us about entering Morocco
If your company or brand is looking at Morocco, one call will tell you where to set up, what premises will cost, and how the entry should be sequenced. We work in English and Arabic, we run the property side end to end, and we coordinate everything else so you enter through a single door.
