Morocco Gets €253 Mln Green Funding

Moroccan private sector will benefit from two green investments totaling €253 million provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union (EU), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and South Korea.

Thanks to this financial support, local businesses will be able to acquire green technology and become more competitive, contributing thus to Morocco’s economic quick recovery after a slowdown due to coronavirus pandemic.

The first Green Value Chain support, worth €90 million, is destined to back small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investments in energy and resource efficiency measures as well as in their integration into regional value chains.

By investing in greener solutions, SMEs become more competitive and increase their access to new markets for exports. This initiative is financed by EBRD and GCF through Société Générale Maroc, Crédit du Maroc and Banque Populaire. It is complemented by grants from the EU and South Korea.

The second funding, worth €163 million, aims to support the Green Economy Financing Facility in Morocco and especially hundreds of private companies through credit lines via local financial institutions. The money will be used for climate impact mitigation, climate change adaptation and adoption of green technologies.

Agribusiness, construction firms, commercial and residential buildings, primary industrial sectors and manufacturing, and services and commerce sectors as well as utility providers will be also benefit from this green funding facility.

Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie, Chief of EBRD in Morocco, said the North African kingdom is “committed to building its economic recovery and resilience through climate action”.

The EBRD and the EU green finance facilitates the involvement of the private sector, a crucial actor in successfully building a low-carbon future, she stressed.

“Green investments and policies offer a variety of opportunities to be seized; they are elements that promote economic recovery and stability,” said on her part Claudia Wiedey, EU Ambassador to Morocco.

The fight against climate change is not just a necessity, but helps to foster sustainable and inclusive growth, prosperity and job creation, added the EU diplomat.