Casablanca has retained its position as Africa’s leading financial hub in the latest edition of the Global Financial Centres Index, reinforcing Morocco’s ambition to position the city as a gateway between the continent and international capital markets.
In the 39th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 39), published in March by London-based consultancy Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute, Casablanca ranked 49th out of 120 financial centres worldwide, ahead of all other African cities cited in the ranking.
The Moroccan city placed just ahead of Mauritius, which ranked 50th globally, while Kigali came in 72nd. The result confirms Casablanca’s continued lead on the continent, even as African financial centres remain overshadowed by larger Gulf hubs such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha in the broader Middle East and Africa landscape.
Casablanca’s rise in the latest index was also notable in relative terms. The city climbed seven places compared with the previous edition, a gain that signals improving international perceptions of its competitiveness as a financial centre. The GFCI measures competitiveness using a mix of quantitative indicators and survey-based assessments of factors such as business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation.
The index classified Casablanca as an “international financial centre in development,” a label that reflects both its progress and the fact that it is still building the scale and depth needed to compete with the world’s most established financial capitals.
For Moroccan authorities and the managers of Casablanca Finance City, the ranking is likely to be seen as validation of years of effort to market Casablanca as a regional base for multinational companies, investment firms and development finance institutions targeting Africa. The city has sought to attract firms looking for a francophone and geographically strategic platform between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
The latest index also showed that while Casablanca remains Africa’s top-ranked centre, the competitive picture across the continent is shifting. Johannesburg recorded the strongest improvement among African cities, rising 14 places, suggesting a rebound in sentiment toward South Africa’s financial ecosystem despite persistent domestic economic challenges. By contrast, Nairobi recorded the sharpest drop in score, while Kigali and Cape Town also lost ground in the latest edition. Lagos, meanwhile, edged up by one place despite registering a lower score overall.
That mixed performance highlights the uneven development of Africa’s financial hubs, many of which are still constrained by shallow capital markets, currency volatility, regulatory uncertainty and infrastructure gaps. While a number of cities have positioned themselves as regional gateways, few have yet developed the depth, liquidity and institutional concentration needed to rival more mature global centres.
Casablanca’s continued leadership therefore carries symbolic as well as strategic weight. It reflects Morocco’s broader economic positioning as a stable investment destination with strong ties to Europe, the Middle East and West Africa, even as it competes in a crowded field for regional financial influence.
Still, the ranking also underscores the distance African cities must cover to close the gap with the world’s dominant financial centres. In the GFCI, the top positions remain concentrated in major global hubs such as New York, London and Singapore, where market scale, institutional sophistication and cross-border connectivity remain far more advanced.
For Casablanca, maintaining its lead in Africa will likely depend on whether it can translate its reputation into deeper capital market activity, stronger international participation and a broader pipeline of African-focused financial services. For now, the latest index confirms one point clearly: Casablanca remains the continent’s financial benchmark.
