Three Moroccan families have made it to Forbes MENA’s Top 100 Arab family businesses in 2023, a list in which over 60% are major shareholders in a company listed on a regional stock exchange.
Most of these companies’ family businesses were among the founding shareholders, unveiled Forbes today.
The first Moroccan name on the list is “O Capital Group,” founded by billionaire Othman Benjelloun.
Earlier this year, he made it to Forbes’ top 100 companies in the MENA region because of the Bank of Africa which he chairs.
O Capital Group, taking the 21 spot on the list, has investments in a number of industries such as banking, renewable energy, agriculture, logistics, transport, media, real estate, IT, telecoms, insurance, and financial services.
The group is a strategic partner with Air Arabia Maroc, a co-shareholder and partner of Aman Resorts Group, and a major shareholder of The Bank of Africa.
Benjelloun and his family had a net worth of $1.3 billion as of July 2023, stated Forbes.
The next Moroccan name on the list is “Holmarcon Group”, claiming the 87 spot.
Founded by Abdelkader Bensalah and now standing present in six African countries, including Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Kenya, the group’s businesses cover finance, agro-industry, logistics, and real estate.
It has three companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange: Les Eaux Minérales d’Oulmès, AtlantaSanad Assurance, and Crédit du Maroc.
The last Moroccan company featured on the list is “Diana Holding”, claiming the 92nd spot.
Today chaired by Rita Maria Zniber, the company was first established in 1956 by Brahim Zniber as an agro-industrial company.
Maria Zniber was featured in this year’s Forbes list of the 100 most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East.
Diana Holding now has 8,300 hectares of land under its management and employs over 7,200 people.
Its olive-growing division covers 1,000 hectares with a storage capacity of 3,500 tons. In November 2022, the Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company acquired the Atlas Bottling Company.
Forbes noted that only four of the top 100 family businesses have women leaders.
Saudi Arabia dominates the list with 33 entries and is home to four of the top 10 companies. The U.A.E. came in close second place with 29 entries, followed by Egypt with nine, and Qatar with eight.