Lalla Al Moutaâouina 2026 Program: 29 Women’s Cooperatives Awarded During the 7th Edition
Lalla Al Moutaâouina 2026: The National Program for Women’s Cooperatives Marks a Turning Point
As part of the National Week of the Social and Solidarity Economy, held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, the Secretary of State in charge of Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy and the Office of Cooperation Development (ODCO) organized, on Thursday, April 30, 2026 in Rabat, the award ceremony of the 7th edition of the national Lalla Al Moutaâouina program, dedicated to recognizing, promoting, and strengthening Moroccan women’s cooperatives.
This edition is held under the theme: “Learn, Sell, Root: The Three Pillars of the Moroccan Women’s Cooperative.” While previous editions focused on rewarding the best initiatives, the program has now evolved into a five-phase support pathway: pre-selection, capacity building, final selection, award ceremony, and twelve months of post-award follow-up. The objective is to transform recognition into a genuine trajectory of growth.
According to Mr. Lahcen Es-saady, State Secretary in charge of Handicrafts and Social and theSolidarity Economy: “The transition from a national award to a structured support program reflects our vision of making women’s cooperatives a major driver of the social and solidarity economy and a vector of territorial cohesion.”
The chosen theme accurately reflects the program’s three core pillars. Learn, because capacity building is essential to sustainability. Sell, because market access is the key to economic viability and cooperative autonomy. Root, because a cooperative is first and foremost a territorial reality, a social bond, and a local dynamic. “Six editions have led us to one conviction: Moroccan women’s cooperatives have both the potential and the determination; our role is to match that ambition,” emphasized Ms. Aicha Errifaai, Director General of ODCO. “The program’s new architecture has been specifically designed to meet this expectation.”
This year, 144 pre-selected women’s cooperatives joined the program, divided into 23 training groups across two simultaneous waves. At the end of the process, the 29 winning cooperatives were awarded a prize of 50,000 dirhams each. Since the program’s launch in 2020, 188 cooperatives have been recognized out of more than 2,000 projects submitted nationwide. By the end of 2025, Morocco counted 8,027 women’s cooperatives bringing together 73,733 members, representing 12% of all cooperatives in the Kingdom, a progression that highlights the increasingly central role of women in Morocco’s social and solidarity economy.
This award ceremony was made possible thanks to the commitment of institutional and private partners who share the conviction that women’s economic empowerment is a lever for territorial development: the Embassy of Qatar, the OCP Foundation, the Regional Council of Fès-Meknès, the Regional Council of Souss-Massa, the Regional Council of Guelmim-Oued Noun, the Regional Council of Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, Attijariwafa bank – Dar Al Moukawil, Crédit Agricole du Maroc, Bank of Africa, Jaida, Attawfiq Microfinance, the Tanger Med Foundation, Cosumar, and the Colainord Cooperative.
