Moroccan Businesses Urge Banks for Stronger COVID-19 Support Measures

More sustained support from the bank for operators to allow them to properly cope with the consequences of the spread of covid-19. This is the grievance of the operators made to the banks, reports Les Inspirations Eco. The textile sector is heavily impacted by the crisis due to the cancellation of many of its orders. For this reason, textile workers demand support until the end of 2022 in order to have a certain stability.

For Mohamed Boubouh, the president of the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries, the crisis has resulted in 90% of textile companies being at a standstill; hence the insufficiency of the measures taken, even if they are good. The association is calling for a suitable system with a reduced interest rate loan until 2022. Because textile companies are only paid six months after the first order.

Meanwhile, exporters, given the importance of their foreign exchange contribution, want to have representatives on the Economic Monitoring Committee to defend their interests. Hassan Sentissi, president of ASMEX, made the same demands as his counterpart in the textile sector, specifying that banks must give priority to SMEs. The telecommunications technology sector considers the measures taken excellent, especially the installments of loans for the benefit of households and businesses. Nevertheless, solutions for rents will relieve many, as it is a burden that weighs on many operators, notes Medhi Alaoui, vice-president of ABEPI.

The results of a survey conducted by ABEPI on the impact of the crisis on SMEs, reveal that 5 million SMEs were in cessation of activity even before the entry into force of the confinement measure, informs the president of the Moroccan Confederation of VSEs and SMEs, Abdallah El Fergui.