Rabat – The French Development Agency (AFD) announced on April 21 the allocation of €150 million to support Morocco’s plan to prepare for the end of the COVID-19 crisis.
The allocated sum will be disbursed throughout the next three months, of which €100 million is dedicated to the state budget while €50 million is intended for Moroccan public enterprises.
The AFD is accelerating the financing of new structural policies in favor of strengthened social protection and the sustainable recovery of the Moroccan economy.
Financing small- and medium-sized enterprises
AFD has mobilized two lines of credit in favor of the financial institution Finea and the Credit Agricole du Maroc group for the funding of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The financial resources, amounting to €130 million, were paid in the weeks following the declaration of the state of health emergency on March 19.
Proparco, a subsidiary of the AFD group dedicated to the private sector, acquired Saham Pharma, the leading manufacturer of antibiotics and one of the main suppliers of hospitals in Morocco, on April 15.
Proparco and SPE AIF I, an Africa- and Middle East-focused private equity fund, are supporting the Saham Pharma’s development strategy to support local production and access to high-quality essential drugs in Morocco and Africa.
Support for new long-term policies
During the second half of 2020, the AFD Group is set to mobilize between €400 and €550 million to support the new structural policies and the institutional reforms included in Morocco’s crisis recovery plan.
The group is already coordinating with the Ministry of Health to support reforms in the health sector and improve the social protection system.
AFD’s support consists of improving health care and extending health coverage and aims to strengthen the performance of the health system and its ability to better resist and respond to the threats associated with the COVID-19 epidemic.
AFD is also discussing with the Ministry of Agriculture a program to support the Generation Green strategy to speed up the upgrading of food processing and distribution channels to meet health standards.
The French financial institution will also continue to provide financial support for the reform of advanced regionalization and for sustainable city programs that will contribute to the economic recovery of Morocco’s 12 regions, as well as to their social and ecological resilience.
“The long-term public policy funding will be accompanied by the mobilization of expertise, in particular implemented by its future subsidiary, Expertise France, which will strengthen the group’s position as a technical partner of Morocco,” AFD Group explained.
“The challenge is first to mobilize short-term funding for the economic and social stabilization program,” said director of AFD in Morocco Mihoub Mezouaghi.
The Moroccan government and the AFD signed on April 1 a loan agreement of €100 million to improve the performance of municipalities. The program aims to strengthen the human and financial capacities of local authorities to properly contribute to the response to the crisis.
