Morocco Advances Bill to Regulate Crowdfunding, Boost Entrepreneurship

Awaited since April 2018, the examination of the bill that should frame crowdfunding has been launched in Morocco. This project aims to "strengthen financial inclusion, particularly for young entrepreneurs, and to support economic and social development, as well as to direct savings towards new financing opportunities".

Defending this project before the Finance and Economic Development Commission in the House of Representatives, the Minister of Finance and Economy, Mohamed Benchaâboun, argued that Morocco is one of the first countries in Africa and the Middle East to put in place a legal framework governing collaborative financing activities.

Continuing his explanations, the minister specified that this document, composed of 70 articles (no. 15-18), aims "to unleash the creative and cultural potential of young people and the active participation of donors and contributors in development projects in Morocco through a simple, secure and transparent financing mechanism". Furthermore, the Bill aims to enhance the attractiveness of the Casablanca Finance City financial center, based on the various successful experiences of this practice around the world.

Three types of financing operations stem from this law, which are in vogue elsewhere through an electronic platform edited and managed by a collaborative financing company: these are the financing of projects in the form of loans (Crowdlending, for which Bank Al Maghrib will regulate the interest rate or even the maximum loan terms); donations (Crowdfunding stricto sensu: the donor will have to obtain authorization if the amount exceeds 500,000 dirhams); and equity (Crowd equity).