Rabat – Things appear to be taking a positive turn for Moroccan startups. A new investment fund has allocated 200 million MAD to finance innovative startups in the sectors of information technology and communication.
Dubbed Maroc Numeric Fund II (MNF II), this new fund is financed by the Central Guarantee Fund’s “Innov Invest” program, Technopark management company (MITC), BMCE Bank, Attijariwafa Bank, and Chaâbi Capital Investissement.
“Thanks to the support of the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG) and the commitment of our historical shareholders, including MITC, we have raised a 200 MAD fund that will allow us to capitalize on our experience and continue our operations in the financing and support of start-ups,” said Dounia Boumehdi, Managing Director of MITC Capital, the managing company of MNF I and MNF II.
This new investment fund will take over the activities of the Maroc Numeric Fund I and will continue to support Moroccan entrepreneurs to become leaders in their respective sectors of activity.
MNF II will “capitalize on our experience and continue our operations in the financing and support of startups operating mainly in the ICT sector, while working in cooperation with all the funds and support structures selected in the Innov Invest,” said Boumehdi.
The fund will primarily invest in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, with the possibility of allocating a 20 percent share in green tech, biotechnology, or any other innovative generalist sector.
The first Maroc Numeric Fund I, with a 100 million MAD, has financially helped six Technopark companies, out of a total of 17 participations, said Lamiae Benmakhlouf, CEO of Technopark.
In addition to the investment in financing, Technopark recently launched, in partnership with IBM and Happy Ventures, a support structure for innovation. This “Tech-Innov” center is a platform for public-private partnership aimed at offering operational support to any innovative project leader in the digital domain to access technology, finance, and the marketing know-how.
For the first edition of the Tech-Innov program, launched on November 9, a dozen innovative companies from Technopark have been selected, notes the statement.
The same source recalls that with a branch opening in Tangier, Technopark will reach, by the end of 2017, more than 300 hosted companies operating in the digital field, with a community of more than 2,000 employees whose average age is 30.
On a grander scale, MITC’s ambition is to duplicate its model in other regions of the kingdom and to take part in the African startup landscape. Technopark is intending to take part in the launch of a Technocentre in Abidjan in 2018.
