Dubai vs Casablanca: Investment Opportunities in 2025

Par Mounir RGUIG, expert-comptable et co-fondateur Tax Cluster.

This article is part of a series of publications that provides a comprehensive analysis of the key aspects each city offers to businesses, including economic attractiveness, taxation, quality of life, and innovation. It aims to guide investors in selecting the city best suited to their objectives.

In 2025, Casablanca and Dubai will provide specific investment opportunities based on their respective economic trajectories, expanding sectors, and long-term strategic objectives. Here is an overview of the main investment opportunities in each city:

1. Investment Opportunities in Dubai in 2025

1. Investment Opportunities in Dubai in 2025

1.1. Disruptive Technologies and Digitalisation

• Targeted Sectors: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Cybersecurity, and Smart City.
• Why Invest?: Dubai has implemented ambitious strategies to become a global leader in digital innovation. AI and blockchain are central to Dubai’s vision of becoming a “Smart City.” Projects such as the “Dubai Blockchain Strategy” aim to make Dubai a platform for blockchain adoption in both the public and private sectors.
• Concrete Opportunities: Tech startups, software development companies, AI/blockchain solution integrators, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure.

1.2. Renewable Energy and Sustainability

• Targeted Sectors: Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Energy Efficiency.
• Why Invest?: Dubai is undergoing an energy transition, seeking to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is one of the largest solar projects in the world and is expected to grow further by 2025.
• Concrete Opportunities: Investments in the construction and operation of solar and wind farms, energy efficiency technologies, circular economy and recycling projects.

1.3. Luxury and Commercial Real Estate

• Targeted Sectors: High-end Residential Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, Hotel Infrastructure.
• Why Invest?: Dubai attracts a growing number of expatriates and international property investors. With reforms facilitating foreign ownership, the real estate market, although fluctuating, is expected to grow, particularly in the luxury and commercial segments.
• Concrete Opportunities: Development of luxury residential complexes, hotels, shopping centres, and tourism infrastructure.

1.4. Logistics and Transport

• Targeted Sectors: Logistics, Air and Sea Freight, Port Infrastructure.
• Why Invest?: Dubai is a global logistics hub thanks to its strategic geographic location and world-class transport infrastructure, including Dubai Airport and the Jebel Ali Port.
• Concrete Opportunities: Development of logistics centres, supply chain management technologies, and transport infrastructure.

2. Investment Opportunities in Casablanca in 2025

2.1. Infrastructure and Construction

• Targeted Sectors: Construction, Transport Infrastructure, Commercial Real Estate.
• Why Invest?: Casablanca is at the heart of Morocco’s infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on transport development (Casablanca Port, highways, railway network) and urban infrastructure. Projects related to the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and a potential 2030 World Cup will further drive investment needs in these sectors.
• Concrete Opportunities: Road, port, airport, residential, and commercial building projects.

2.2. Agricultural Technologies and Agro-Industry

• Targeted Sectors: Sustainable Agriculture, Agricultural Technologies, Agro-food Processing.
• Why Invest?: Morocco is undergoing an agricultural transformation, with a strategy aimed at modernising its agriculture through technological innovation, sustainability, and increased food production. Casablanca is an ideal base for investing in Africa’s agricultural and agro-industrial sectors.
• Concrete Opportunities: Agri-tech startups, projects related to irrigation, water management, yield improvement, and agro-food processing infrastructure

2.3. Renewable Energy

• Targeted Sectors: Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Energy Storage Technology.
• Why Invest?: Casablanca, as an industrial hub, plays a central role in Morocco’s energy transition. The country aims to generate 52% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
• Concrete Opportunities: Investments in solar and wind energy, partnerships in the construction of solar farms, and development of energy efficiency technologies.

2.4. Information Technology and Digital Innovation

• Targeted Sectors: Software Development, Fintech, E-commerce, Cybersecurity.
• Why Invest?: Casablanca, through initiatives such as Maroc Digital 2025, aims to accelerate its digital transformation, particularly in financial services, tech startups, and digital administration. The fintech sector is experiencing rapid growth due to financial inclusion and the digitalisation of banking services.
• Concrete Opportunities: Development of fintech applications, cybersecurity solutions, e-commerce platforms, and digital infrastructure for public administrations..

2.5. Healthcare and Medical Infrastructure

• Targeted Sectors: Private Hospitals, Specialist Clinics, Medical Technologies.
• Why Invest?: The demand for modern healthcare infrastructure in Casablanca and Morocco is increasing. With a growing population and rapid urbanisation, the healthcare sector is attracting more investors looking to meet the needs of an expanding middle class.
• Concrete Opportunities: Investment in hospitals, clinics, specialised care centres, and medical equipment and technologies.

Conclusion

In 2025, both Dubai and Casablanca will continue to offer attractive investment opportunities, but in different sectors. Dubai focuses on technological leadership, its role as a global logistics hub, and its booming real estate market.

Casablanca, on the other hand, offers direct access to Africa and growing opportunities in infrastructure, agriculture, and renewable energy.

Investors will need to choose between cutting-edge technology and modern infrastructure in Dubai, or the growth dynamics of Africa and ongoing reforms in Casablanca.

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