Family-Owned Businesses: Facing Existential Challenges, the Ecosystem Takes Shape

They are both a pillar and a blind spot of Moroccan capitalism.

Family-owned businesses undeniably form the backbone of the national economy, playing a crucial role in job creation, economic and social stability, and long-term investment.

Paradoxically, it is still difficult today to accurately assess their economic weight or to map them comprehensively, due to a lack of available data and dedicated research on the subject.

However, based on international benchmarks, it is estimated that this category of companies accounts for nearly 90% of the entrepreneurial fabric and around 70% of employment.

Among them are well-known success stories, such as SGTM of the Kabbaj family, TGCC of the Bouzoubaa family, Les Eaux Minérales d’Oulmès of the Bensalah family, and many others.

But there is also a multitude of small and very small enterprises (SMEs and micro-businesses), more or less structured and, above all, more or less prepared for the often decisive—and sometimes fatal—test of generational succession.

Succession, particularly at the transition to the third generation, is indeed a major challenge. Only about 10% of family businesses successfully navigate this stage, largely due to a lack of anticipation and the absence of a properly prepared succession plan.

Mainstreaming best practices

Aware of both their strength and their vulnerability, leaders of family-owned businesses are increasingly coming together within professional associations.

This is the case of the Moroccan Family Business Institute (IEF Maroc), founded in 2023 and chaired by Kacem Bennani-Smires, President of the Dellasus Group.

Bringing together some forty family businesses from a wide range of sectors, the Institute’s mission is to pool efforts to promote sound governance practices, ensure business continuity, and facilitate generational transfer.

The association is also working on mapping the sector in order to address the lack of national statistics.

Among the founding members of IEF Maroc is Abdelkader Boukhriss.

As President of SFM Conseil, he is deeply familiar with these issues. The nearly century-old firm he leads has supported several generations of family businesses, developing highly specialized expertise in this field.

“Family Business” has even become a dedicated line within the firm’s service offering, alongside its traditional areas of expertise such as tax and legal advisory.

His guiding principle is to equip business leaders and family members with the tools needed to ensure a smooth “passing of the torch.” The urgency of this challenge is all the greater as the number of affected businesses continues to grow.

For good reason: “Many companies founded in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s have now reached a pivotal moment—transitioning to the second or third generation.

The difficulties usually do not stem from economic performance. Rather, they arise because the succession process was not sufficiently prepared,” Boukhriss emphasizes (see interview).

Formalizing governance frameworks, clarifying roles, establishing shareholder agreements and family charters, developing a succession plan—these are all best practices that family business leaders can no longer afford to ignore if they wish to avoid difficulties or, worse, the disintegration of their businesses.

“There is sometimes an excess of confidence in the next generation, without actually giving them the necessary tools.

Governance frameworks are often implicit, and matters are rarely formalized. Yet new generations need a clear strategy, a shared vision, and explicit rules in order to fully commit to the business,” says the President of SFM Conseil.

Certificates, masterclasses… leaders are upskilling

It is precisely to raise awareness among family business leaders and members of the critical importance of these issues that new initiatives have emerged in recent years.

One such initiative was the launch of a certification program dedicated to family businesses—a first in Morocco.

Initiated by SFM Conseil in partnership with IÉSEG School of Management in Lille, and delivered by recognized experts in the field, the executive certificate entitled “Sustainability & Intergenerational Leadership” trained an initial cohort of around ten companies on topics such as succession and governance, leadership and talent identification, innovation, and the development of strategic vision.

The certificates for this first group were recently awarded in Casablanca during SFM Conseil’s second annual event dedicated to family businesses.

Following the program’s success, the training will be renewed, with a second edition of the certificate scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Participants at this second annual gathering also attended a masterclass led by Guillaume Lavigne, a specialist in family business advisory and strategic consulting with nearly thirty years of experience.

Drawing on his work with major family groups such as the Mulliez family of the Auchan Group, he presented practical strategies to business leaders for professionalizing governance, harmonizing relationships between family members, shareholders, and executives, and building sustainable collective projects.

A further sign of the growing interest of public authorities in family businesses was the presence of the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, at the event.

For Boukhriss, the objective is clear: “Our hope is for a fairer recognition of the role family businesses play in the prosperity and cohesion of our country, as well as of the challenges they face today.”