First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco’s listed banks have entered a virtuous cycle, recording 91.6 billion dirhams in net banking income for 2024, up 12.8 percent year-on-year, significantly exceeding five-year averages and signaling robust sector recovery. Attijari Global Research’s latest report reveals comprehensive performance improvements across all revenue streams. Interest margins grew 6.3 percent driven by credit volume recovery, particularly […]
Nigeria’s economy has officially grown larger — at least on paper — but the West African country still remains the continent’s fourth-largest economy, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. Following a long-awaited GDP rebasing, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revised the country’s nominal output for 2024 to ₦372.8 trillion ($243 billion), up from ₦314 […]
The Casablanca Stock Exchange achieved a historic milestone last week, crossing the one trillion dirham market capitalization threshold for the first time, confirming the Moroccan financial market’s growing maturity and investor confidence. The benchmark MASI index advanced 1.30 percent during the week, breaking through the psychological 19,000-point barrier. This achievement reflects sustained market consolidation driven […]
The African Development Bank has approved 100 million euros in financing for Morocco’s inclusive agriculture program targeting women and youth, aiming to enhance food security and climate resilience while creating sustainable rural entrepreneurship opportunities. The Support Program for Inclusive Solidarity Agriculture for Women and Youth (PAASIFEJ) will stimulate entrepreneurship in rural areas through adapted financing […]
G20 member States, under the leadership of South Africa’s 2025 presidency, are convening in Durban with the hope of reaching a consensus on urgent global financial reforms. The finance and Central bank deputies gathered on Monday and Tuesday to address pressing issues such as debt relief, development financing, and the restructuring of multilateral financial institutions. […]
Morocco’s ambitious social protection program will require 39 billion dirhams in funding for 2025, rising to 41 billion dirhams in 2026, as the government expands universal healthcare and direct social assistance, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch announced Tuesday. Speaking before the Chamber of Counselors during a monthly plenary session on economic policy, Akhannouch detailed the government’s […]
The initial public offering (IPO) of Vicenne, a leading Moroccan medical equipment company, broke a new record on the Casablanca Stock Exchange with an IPO that was oversubscribed 64 times. The offering attracted over 32 billion dirhams in demand by investors for shares worth just 500 million dirhams, resulting in an unprecedented oversubscription. Vicenne offered […]
Morocco’s microfinance sector faces significant transformation as proposed regulations dramatically increase lending limits and introduce new deposit frameworks, positioning microfinance institutions as crucial intermediaries for small business financing. The draft decree, implementing Law 50-20 on microfinance, establishes differentiated credit ceilings based on institutional structure and client profiles. For associative microfinance institutions serving low-income populations, limits […]
The Mohammed VI Investment Fund has officially designated 14 management companies to oversee thematic and sectoral investment funds aimed at supporting Moroccan startups and innovation-driven enterprises. This announcement follows a highly competitive call for expressions of interest launched on April 15, 2024, which attracted 47 applications from both domestic and international firms. The selection process […]
Morocco’s dirham appreciated 1.3 percent against the U.S. dollar while weakening 0.7 percent versus the euro between May and June 2025, according to Bank Al-Maghrib’s latest monthly economic review, reflecting broader currency market dynamics and the euro’s strength. The central bank attributed these movements partly to the euro’s 2.1 percent appreciation against the dollar during […]