Why Sub-Saharan African Students Study in Morocco

Morocco's Long-Running Africa Scholarship Policy

Morocco has actively recruited students from Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1980s and 1990s, using education as a tool of foreign policy and regional influence. The Agence Marocaine de Coopération Internationale (AMCI) runs the main government scholarship channel, offering funded places to students from Francophone and other African partner countries, with priority for fields tied to Morocco's development goals such as engineering, agriculture, medicine, and business. You can find current program details directly through AMCI's official site , and through your own country's Ministry of Higher Education or Moroccan embassy, since AMCI allocations are usually coordinated government to government rather than through open individual applications.

The OCP Foundation and UM6P Route

The OCP Foundation, linked to Morocco's state phosphate company OCP Group, funds a separate scholarship track focused mainly on the Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), a research university established in 2013 in Ben Guerir. UM6P's scholarship scheme covers partial or full tuition and living costs for academically strong students who could not otherwise afford to study there, with a particular focus on science, engineering, agriculture, and business programs connected to African development priorities. Details on current programs and eligibility sit on UM6P's scholarships and admissions page and the OCP Foundation's scholarships page . UM6P also runs programs targeted at specific groups, including women-focused scholarship tracks developed with international partners.

Why Francophone Students Choose Morocco Over Europe

Language is a major factor. Most Moroccan public universities and UM6P teach in French (with English-medium options growing at UM6P and a few other institutions), so a student from Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, or Cameroon can study without first mastering a new academic language, unlike a move to an English-speaking country. Morocco is also physically and culturally closer to West and Central Africa than Europe, with shorter, cheaper flights home and a Muslim-majority culture that is familiar to many students from Sahel and West African countries. Visa rules for African students are generally more accessible than the visas required to study in France, Belgium, or Canada, and the overall cost of living, while not the cheapest in Africa, sits well below major European cities.

Where Students Study

Rabat and Casablanca host the largest concentration of public universities and private institutions, and both cities have established international student communities. Marrakech and Fes also draw students, particularly for Islamic studies and humanities programs at institutions such as Al Akhawayn University and various public universities. Ben Guerir, a smaller city built around UM6P, has grown specifically around that university's research and student population since 2013.

What to Check Before You Apply

• Whether your target scholarship (AMCI or OCP Foundation/UM6P) is coordinated through your home government, your school, or a direct individual application, since the process differs.

• Whether your program teaches in French, English, or Arabic, and whether you need a language preparation year first.

• What the scholarship actually covers: tuition only, or tuition plus accommodation, food, and a stipend.

• Recognition of your Moroccan degree back home or in the wider region, especially for regulated professions like medicine or engineering.

Contact your own country's Ministry of Higher Education first to check whether a government-to-government AMCI quota already exists for your country, since this is often the fastest and most funded route into a Moroccan university.