Challenges and Opportunities Sector Challenges R&D Promotion • Morocco has made significant progress in promoting R&D in recent years: • The number of partnerships with foreign universities and research centers has increased, highlighting the credibility enjoyed by Moroccan academics and researchers; • Moroccan researchers are leading R&D teams in innovative areas, such as microelectronics, biotechnology and nanotechnology; • A support fund for technology innovation has been set up. • The challenge for the future is to ensure the continuation and to reinforce the cooperation between the research institutes and the private sector to turn this existing national research potential into marketable technology and products. • A great interaction between academic researchers and private companies will lead to a greater focus on concrete projects, while enjoying the support of industrialists, and balancing fundamental and applied research that are oriented toward marketable openings. • Furthermore, openness to the world is necessary, given the limited size of the local market to justify a significant investment in R&D. 14 D i g i t a l M o r o c c o The National Strategy for Information Society and Digital Economy - 2009-2013