MAScIR — the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research — is a Rabat-based public non-profit research institute that bridges academic science and industrial application in Morocco, working across health, materials, energy and environmental technology. Founded in 2007 and now operating under the governance of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), it is best known publicly for developing a Moroccan-made RT-PCR test during the COVID-19 pandemic and for spinning out several health-tech startups from its own labs.
At-a-glance
- Founded: 2007, as a public non-profit foundation
- Headquarters: Rabat
- Governance: Operates under Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), per La Vérité
- Focus sectors: Health/biotechnology, advanced materials, energy and environment — built on nanotechnology, biotechnology, microelectronics and optical-photonics research platforms, per Massolia
- Institutional partners: MAScIR’s own site lists OCP and the OCP Foundation among its partner organizations
What they do
MAScIR exists to de-risk applied research for Moroccan industry: instead of every manufacturer building its own R&D lab, MAScIR provides shared researchers, equipment and know-how that companies and public institutions can draw on for specific projects. Its research is organized around four platforms — nanotechnology, biotechnology, microelectronics and optical photonics — applied to four priority domains: health, energy, water and environment, according to Massolia, which also reported the foundation employing around 60 permanent researchers and engineers plus 32 doctoral students in its labs (figures reported as of that account; we could not confirm a more recent headcount). The same reporting put MAScIR’s cumulative public funding at roughly 471 million dirhams between 2008 and 2013, an early sign of the scale of state investment behind the model.
Applied research at MAScIR skews toward projects with a direct industrial or public-health payoff rather than open-ended basic science — the RT-PCR program below is the clearest example, but the same shared-infrastructure model applies to materials-science work for manufacturers and environmental-monitoring projects for public agencies, per Massolia’s reporting on the foundation’s structure.
Its most visible public-health contribution came during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, MAScIR — drawing on roughly a decade of prior experience developing molecular diagnostic kits — produced a Moroccan-made RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, which was validated by Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie and the Institut Pasteur in Paris before moving into large-scale production, per Finances News Hebdo (June 2020) and Le360. We could not independently verify the specific “within weeks” development timeline sometimes attributed to this project, so we’re describing it here simply as a 2020 development rather than repeating an unverified turnaround claim.
Who it’s for
MAScIR is built for three audiences. Moroccan and multinational manufacturers — particularly in materials, energy, and life sciences — can access shared lab infrastructure and researchers instead of building in-house R&D from scratch. Public institutions needing applied science at speed, as the pandemic testing program demonstrated, have a domestic research partner rather than relying solely on imported solutions. And Moroccan researchers and engineers with a startup idea in health-tech or materials science have a genuine path to spin out a company through MAScIR Valor, the foundation’s research-commercialization arm.
Track record
Beyond the pandemic-era PCR test, MAScIR has produced at least two documented startup spin-offs in recent years. Moldiag, a MAScIR/UM6P spin-off, launched what it describes as the first 100%-Moroccan BCR-ABL diagnostic kit for chronic myeloid leukemia in April 2023, receiving both Moroccan Ministry of Health authorization and CE marking, per La Vérité. Separately, Medevice — a spin-off of MAScIR Valor developing connected diagnostic devices, built by teams from MAScIR’s Digitalization & Microelectronics and Embedded Systems & AI research centers — was selected in 2022 for the pan-African “Investing in Innovation” (i3) program backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among 450 applicant African startups, and received a $50,000 grant plus mentorship, according to Finances News Hebdo.
We were not able to independently verify a formal, named OCP research partnership beyond OCP and the OCP Foundation appearing as listed partners on MAScIR’s own site — so we’re presenting that relationship as “a listed institutional partner” rather than describing specific joint projects we could not confirm.
How to connect
Manufacturers, researchers and public institutions looking to work with MAScIR can find contact and program information on the foundation’s official site, mascir.com, including its dedicated startups page for founders interested in MAScIR Valor’s spin-off track. Moroccopreneur is not affiliated with MAScIR, UM6P or OCP; this profile is independent editorial coverage.
FAQ
Sources: Massolia, Finances News Hebdo (June 2020), Le360, La Vérité (April 2023), Finances News Hebdo (Sept. 2022), mascir.com.
