Harch AI 2026 Media Report · FY 2026
The state of Moroccan
corporate reputation.
Authored by senior analysts at Harch AI using our technology to gather insights on the main and sometimes more surprising news stories and trends in Moroccan and African corporate media in 2026.
Signal AI Insight
How the top trends of 2026 evolved.
It comes as no surprise that banking digital transformation is the top trend of 2026 by some margin, with over 12,800 pieces of coverage. This amounted to almost the same amount of coverage of all the other trends combined.
| # | Trend | Coverage | Sentiment | Peak | Summary |
|---|
| 1 | Banking digital transformation | 12 | 78 | July 2026 | Maroc Telecom and Bank of Africa led digital transformation narratives. Mobile banking adoption up 34% YoY. |
| 2 | African Continental Free Trade (AfCFTA) | 9 | 71 | June 2026 | Coverage of cross-border trade agreements, with OCP Group and Attijariwafa Bank featured prominently as beneficiaries. |
| 3 | ESG & Sustainable Finance | 7 | 74 | May 2026 | Bank of Africa's sustainable finance framework and OCP's green ammonia project drove positive sentiment. |
| 4 | Cybersecurity threats | 6 | 38 | August 2026 | Rising concerns over cyber attacks on Moroccan banks. 3 major incidents reported across the sector. |
| 5 | Royal Air Maroc expansion | 5 | 67 | July 2026 | RAM's new routes to Asia and North America covered positively, despite labor dispute undercurrents. |
| 6 | Phosphate prices & food security | 4 | 62 | April 2026 | OCP Group central to global food security narrative as fertilizer prices stabilized. |
| 7 | Telecom infrastructure investment | 4 | 65 | September 2026 | 5G rollout announcements from all 3 Moroccan telcos, with Inwi leading positive sentiment. |
| 8 | Mergers & Acquisitions | 3 | 58 | August 2026 | Consolidation in the retail and cement sectors, with Marjane acquiring 2 regional chains. |
| 9 | Labor disputes & social movements | 3 | 28 | June 2026 | Banking and aviation sectors hit by strike threats. Bank of Africa and RAM most affected. |
| 10 | Climate events & sustainability | 3 | 45 | August 2026 | Drought concerns and water scarcity drove sustainability narrative across agro-industry. |
Reputation pillars by industry
What drives the narrative in each industry.
We analyzed how Innovation, Performance, and Purpose pillars are weighted in each industry's narrative — and which themes dominate each pillar.
Banking
● Innovation 35%● Performance 41%● Purpose 24%
Telecommunications
● Innovation 52%● Performance 30%● Purpose 18%
Mining & Phosphates
● Innovation 48%● Performance 35%● Purpose 17%
Aviation
● Innovation 28%● Performance 47%● Purpose 25%
Retail
● Innovation 30%● Performance 42%● Purpose 28%
Energy
● Innovation 26%● Performance 44%● Purpose 30%
Company spotlights
The stories that defined 2026.
OCP Group
OCP Group dominates sustainability narrative with green ammonia announcement
OCP Group's $1.2B green ammonia plant in Jorf Lasfar generated over 842 articles in Q2 2026, with 89% positive sentiment. The project positions OCP as a global leader in sustainable fertilizer production and reinforces Morocco's role in global food security.
+12 pts
reputation score increase Q2 2026
Bank of Africa
Bank of Africa's pan-African expansion accelerates with Nigeria entry
Bank of Africa's Lagos office opening in July 2026 generated 386 articles across African business media. The expansion narrative scored 78/100 in strength, with sentiment at +0.75 (strongly positive). However, labor disputes and a MAD 2.5M compliance fine created countervailing negative coverage.
#2
banking sector rank (up from #3)
Inwi
Inwi leads positive sentiment among Moroccan telcos with 5G launch
Inwi's 5G rollout in Casablanca and Rabat generated 234 articles with 84% positive sentiment — the highest of any Moroccan telco. The operator's 'digital inclusion' narrative resonated strongly with media, contrasting with Maroc Telecom's more mixed coverage on the same topic.
+2 ranks
moved up in Harch 100
Get the full report
Download the full 2026 Media Intelligence Report.
40 pages of analysis covering 10 trends, 6 industries, 20 company spotlights, and 5 emerging risks for 2027.
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