CGEM Confirms Mehdi Tazi-Mohamed Bachiri Ticket as Chakib Alj Wraps Up Mandate

Marrakech – The board of directors of Morocco’s General Confederation of Enterprises (CGEM), the country’s main private sector body established in 1947 and representing over 90,000 direct and affiliated members, on Wednesday validated the candidacy of Mehdi Tazi and Mohamed Bachiri for president and vice-president general for the 2026-2029 term.

The pair are the sole candidates for the leadership of the employers’ organization.

Tazi, currently CGEM’s vice-president general and CEO of ASK Capital, will run for the presidency. Bachiri, managing director of Renault Group Morocco, will stand for the vice-presidency.

Their candidacy met “all eligibility conditions set by the statutes and internal regulations,” the confederation said in a statement. The vote will take place at the elective general assembly scheduled for May 14.

The board meeting, held in Casablanca under outgoing president Chakib Alj, also reviewed the report of the electoral process monitoring committee established under Article 7.2 of the internal regulations.

Alj used the occasion to present the outgoing presidency’s record for the 2023-2026 term. He told reporters that after a first mandate (2020-2023) defined by crisis management and enterprise support, the second focused on “the liberation of energies, recovery, and concrete results.”

In a statement to SNRTnews, Alj stated the CGEM delivered “concrete advances in service of the Moroccan enterprise, with particular attention to VSEs and SMEs.” He added that the confederation “fully assumed its role as a force of proposal and an engaged actor for improving the business climate, strengthening competitiveness, and supporting employment.”

The outgoing mandate was structured around four pillars. The first targeted the business environment. Key outcomes included the law on payment deadlines, a revised public procurement decree reserving 30% of contracts for small enterprises with a national preference clause, and a corridor mechanism with the Exchange Office to speed up processing for businesses.

Corporate tax reform brought the rate to 20% for SMEs and 35% for large firms by 2026. The confederation also launched the “PME Supply Chain” program, backed by MAD 100 million ($10 million) over five years, to modernize logistics for small and medium enterprises.

The second pillar addressed human capital. The CGEM was involved in discussions on the organic law on the right to strike, long pending for decades. It also pushed for reform of continuous professional training, launched the Morocco Innovation Lab, deployed annual editions of its Social Academy, and advocated for modernizing the Labor Code.

Read also: CGEM Positions Morocco as Key Hub for ‘Made in Africa’ Success

On the third axis, inclusion and responsible governance, the CGEM expanded its CSR Label to 151 certified companies and launched the Responsible SME Label. It published new corporate governance codes and rolled out initiatives through the Morocco4Diversity platform, including measures for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

The fourth pillar focused on preparing the economy for the future. The confederation organized the National Industry Day as an annual event and launched the Made in Morocco label. On decarbonization, it introduced carbon measurement tools.

Through the Tatwir R&D program, 160 projects were selected with over MAD 311.4 million ($31.1 million) in public grants mobilized. Support for startups continued through the “CGEM Tech for Founders” initiative.

On the international front, the CGEM organized over 25 economic missions and business forums across Europe, Africa, the Gulf, Asia, and Latin America. Alj indicated the confederation also conducted studies on employment and African value chain complementarities.

Internally, the CGEM adopted reformed statutes in 2025, renovated its headquarters and regional offices, and launched the MYCGEM digital platform for member services and networking.

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