Assessing the future of a CSP industry in Morocco

•A CSP industry in Morocco is viable under certain adjustments in the next decade.•Policy related barriers are more critical than entrepreneurial or market obstacles.•It urges to provide a legislative and administrative support for CSP initiatives.•The volume of installed CSP capacity in the region doesn׳t reach a critical level.•Some foreign investors might have a negative miss perception of Moroccan reality.

This article presents the results of a survey on the feasibility of, and difficulties in, establishing a locally CSP manufacturing industry in Morocco. First, the survey explores which specific components of the CSP production chain could be manufactured in Morocco today and which would require moderate or significant changes being made in that country over the next decade. This paper contributes to demonstrating the potential for a CSP manufacturing industry in Morocco at the present time, ideal business models and current restrictions. Second, on the one hand this survey provides insight into the entrepreneurial, policy- and market-related barriers hampering the development of this industry and, on the other, the relative advantages offered by Morocco for the development of a CSP sector. Complementing the empirical findings on foreign direct investment determinants, this exercise stresses the key relevance of the economic context not only in terms of size, stability and predictability of the market, but also in regard to the critical importance of institutional and policy-related issues such as stability and public policy commitment. The results show that prior experience of firms in developing areas is a crucial issue in the accurate assessment of the risks and benefits associated with FDI decisions.