Morocco was among the world’s leading countries for attracting private investment backed by public development finance between 2021 and 2024, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, ranking joint 10th globally and third in Africa.
The kingdom attracted an average of $1.5 billion a year over the period, equal to roughly $6 billion in total at constant 2023 prices, tying with Serbia for tenth place worldwide. Only South Africa, at $1.7 billion a year, and Egypt, at $1.6 billion, ranked higher on the African continent, with Morocco ahead of Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria.
Globally, Brazil topped the ranking with $6.5 billion mobilized annually, followed by India, Turkey, Mexico and Colombia. Africa as a whole received the largest regional share of private capital mobilized through development finance during the period, at $19.7 billion a year, representing 30 percent of the global total, ahead of Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia.
Guarantees were the most common financing tool used in Africa, accounting for 31 percent of mobilized private investment, followed by direct investments, syndicated loans and investments in collective vehicles. Middle-income countries received 69 percent of all private capital mobilized worldwide during the period, while the world’s least developed countries received just 8 percent.
The report found that public development interventions have mobilized more than $600 billion in private investment globally since 2012, with annual totals climbing from $17 billion that year to a record $77 billion in 2024. The International Finance Corporation was the largest single provider, mobilizing $20.6 billion a year, followed by European Union institutions, while the United States was the largest bilateral provider at $6.5 billion annually.
