King Mohammed VI appointed Ahmed Rahhou minister of artificial intelligence, digital transformation and administrative reform on 16 October, as part of a new government led by Fatima Zahra El Mansouri, Morocco World News reported. The appointment ceremony took place at the Royal Palace in Rabat, Tech Review Africa reported.
Key points
- Rahhou takes over the portfolio previously held by Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni.
- Morocco’s AI 2030 roadmap targets MAD 100 billion ($10 billion) in additional GDP by 2030.
- The roadmap also aims to create 50,000 jobs and train and certify 200,000 people.
Rahhou takes over the digital portfolio
Rahhou replaces Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, who held the previous portfolio. The new ministry brings artificial intelligence into the name of the department responsible for digital transformation and administrative reform. It inherits existing programmes, including the Morocco Digital 2030 strategy and the Morocco AI 2030 roadmap.
Rahhou, 68, had served as president of Morocco’s Competition Council since March 2021, Hespress reported. The council is an independent body responsible for safeguarding competition in the Moroccan market. Before that appointment, he became Morocco’s ambassador to the European Union in 2019. He had also led CIH Bank from October 2009, overseeing changes that included the launch of its MyCIH mobile banking application in 2014.
The appointment places AI in the title of a Moroccan ministerial portfolio for the first time. Its pairing with digital transformation and administrative reform gives Rahhou responsibility for the technology within a department that already handles changes to government services. Morocco’s plans for AI extend beyond those services, covering domestic research, infrastructure and adoption across the economy.
Morocco’s AI 2030 targets
The national roadmap, also called AI Made in Morocco, aims to generate MAD 100 billion ($10 billion) in additional gross domestic product by 2030. It also targets 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and the training and certification of 200,000 people in AI-related skills. Those are goals of the roadmap, rather than results of the ministerial appointment.
The roadmap covers local technological capabilities, digital infrastructure and the use of AI in different sectors. In September, Moroccan authorities outlined plans to enlarge the national JAZARI Institutes network for AI research and innovation. They also presented a sovereign AI marketplace intended to give users access to secure AI tools while strengthening data protection and national control over digital infrastructure.
Another initiative, Idarati AI, aims to help people navigate administrative procedures. Morocco is also working on models adapted to Arabic, Moroccan Darija and Amazigh. These projects put the ministry’s public-service responsibilities beside the roadmap’s broader effort to develop domestic AI capabilities and expertise.
The wider region faces constraints on such plans. An International Monetary Fund report published in July placed Sub-Saharan Africa lowest on its AI Preparedness Index, Morocco World News reported. The IMF analysis put internet use among Africans at 38% in 2024, against 68% globally. It estimated AI could increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic production by approximately 4% over ten years, provided shortcomings in infrastructure, internet access, skills and regulation were tackled. Without meaningful improvements, it put the potential gain close to 0.2%.
AI ministerial roles beyond Morocco
Other governments have put AI in ministerial portfolios with different remits. Canada created a dedicated portfolio in May 2025, appointing Evan Solomon minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation. His mandate includes AI policy, responsible development and Canadian-owned infrastructure, including data centres and high-speed communications networks.
Trinidad and Tobago combined public administration and digital transformation in a Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence in 2025. In the United Kingdom, AI responsibilities have remained within existing government structures. From July 2026, the minister of state for artificial intelligence has served in both the Department for Business, Innovation and Science and the Cabinet Office, handling policy, research, adoption and AI security.
The United Arab Emirates appointed Omar Sultan Al Olama minister of state for artificial intelligence in 2017, becoming the first country to make such an appointment. His portfolio expanded in July 2020 to include the digital economy and remote work applications.
