AfBD Approves $200 million Loan to Boost Morocco’s Industrialization Plan

The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a loan of $200 million to Morocco to boost the country’s industrialization plan, local media said.

The loan will help fund the first phase of the support program of the Industrial Acceleration Plan, which aims to create 500,000 jobs by 2020 and to increase the share of industry in Morocco’s GDP from 14% in 2014 to 23% by the same year.

It also aims to improve the business environment, boost exports and support the financing of industrial activities that promote women’s entrepreneurship and respect for the environment.

The AfDB has also approved a risk-sharing agreement amounting to $50 million for the benefit of the Moroccan Central Popular Bank (BCP).

The agreement will help meet the growing demand of African markets for trade financing in vital economic sectors such as agro-food, health, services and industry. In addition, it will promote regional integration, the development of the financial sector and enable several African States to generate additional tax revenues. This agreement will support Moroccan exporters in particular, and more broadly, African banks and SMEs.

“This partnership with BCP will help unleash the growth potential of intra-African trade, which is an important leverage for regional integration,” said Mohamed El Azizi, AfDB Director General for North Africa. “This project is in line with the AfDB’s strategic priority in matters of regional integration,” said Stéphane Nalletamby, the AfDB’s director for financial sector development. “This operation will strengthen exchanges between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.