European Investment Bank Doubles Morocco Funding to €617 Million in 2020

As part of the Team Europe initiative, the Bank did not skimp on the means to quickly support Morocco in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, said Anne Barone, EIB representative in Morocco, during a webinar on the EIB group’s balance sheet in Morocco during 2020, a year mainly marked by the health crisis. Thus, the Bank provided quick cash assistance by granting already signed loans to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

This financing has especially taken into account the improvement of the health system with 200 million euros, support for agricultural SMEs with 200 million euros, the strengthening of the Caisse Centrale de Garantie (CCG) in order to provide liquidity to the private sector as a whole with 150 million euros, as well as the automotive sector with 54 million euros. Micro-entrepreneurs have also been taken into account up to 13 million euros. Thanks to the record volume of EIB activity in Morocco, important projects of the Moroccan economy in this period of crisis have been financed, added Ricardo Mourinho Félix, Vice-President of the bank, responsible for financing in Morocco, specifying that according to its strong determination, the EIB has accompanied its partners and project leaders, in order to curb the effects of the health crisis in the public and private sectors.

In addition, to help SMEs and support the recovery of the private sector, the EIB has provided new financing guarantees through the public CCG system, which facilitates access to credit for VSEs and SMEs. A first tranche of 150 million euros, or 1.6 billion dirhams, was signed in 2020 and a second tranche of the same amount is planned for 2021.

To recall, the EIB, a major partner of Morocco for 40 years, participates in the development and realization of important projects in the essential sectors of the Moroccan economy and in the achievement of the major objectives of the European Union.