EBRD contributes €12 million for setting up an automotive testing center in Morocco

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is strengthening the competitiveness of the private manufacturing and service sector in Morocco with a €12 million loan to Morocco Mobility and Automotive Centre (ATC), a Moroccan company involved in automotive testing.

EBRD said in a statement that the funds will help ATC acquire equipment to set up the first automotive testing center of its kind in Africa.

This large-scale center, which is expected to start operations in 2022, will contribute to the sector’s competitiveness and the extension of supply chains in the country by introducing new types of service at different stages of the production process or distribution channels that are currently unavailable on the market, the Bank said.

The automotive industry is a key driver of exports and employment in the country, contributing to 25 per cent of exports, involving more than 260 suppliers and supporting over 148,000 jobs, EBRD added.

Currently, Morocco has four integrated industrial clusters for the industry, in Casablanca, Kenitra, Rabat, and Tangier, EBRD said, noting that as part of the new collaboration with the Bank, the company will create and conduct a training program for young people in the technical skills of automotive testing in Oued Zem.

According to EBRD, the testing center will be certified ISO 9001 for its quality management system for testing, analysis, construction of equipment and prototyping of vehicle powertrains and powertrain components.

The loan agreement was signed at the EU-Africa Business Forum in Brussels, co-organized by the European Commission, the African Union Commission, and African and European business organizations.