Morocco: Bio-Fertilizers Producer Gets €24 Mln EBRD Loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced Wednesday it granted a €24 million loan to Elephant Vert, a Morocco-based producer of bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides and bio-stimulants.

Elephant Vert is the first company in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region exclusively dedicated to the development and production of a full range of these innovative bio-inputs.

EBRD said its loan will encourage use of innovative and environmentally-friendly agricultural inputs. It will enable Elephant Vert to boost the development, output and distribution of these biological products, which are used to increase agricultural yields while remaining cost-efficient and environmentally friendly.

The switch away from chemical fertilizers should lead to significant greenhouse gas emission savings of over 150,000 tons of CO2 equivalents each year in Morocco, host country of COP22 due next November in Marrakech.

Laurent Chabrier, EBRD Director for Morocco, said: “We are very pleased to support this innovative and research-intensive project, which proves that Morocco is a fertile ground for new ideas. It comes at a very timely moment, just months before COP22 when the world will gather in Morocco to continue working on viable solutions to fight climate change.”

Sébastien Couasnet, CEO of Elephant Vert, said: ‘“We have ambitious plans and were looking for a reliable long-term partner to finance our expansion. We found this partner in the EBRD. The Bank’s support goes beyond what you would expect from a financing institution.”

The project will also benefit from a grant under the EBRD’s FINTECC (Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change) program, which supports the demonstration of climate technologies with low market penetration.

The EBRD started investing in Morocco in 2012. To date, the Bank has invested over €1 billion in 26 projects across the country.