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Rabat – Morocco is one of the most active markets for private equity in Africa according to Flavia Palanza, director of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the neighboring countries of the European Union (EU).
Speaking at the second meeting of the “Morocco 21” conference held in Casablanca today, February 17, Palanza said that the role of Morocco’s non-bank financial institutions is remarkable.
The “Morocco 21” conferences are initiated by News Com Africa Holding (NCA Holding) and aims to provide financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Palanza noted that she considers it to be important to place the private sector at the core of the country’s economic recovery. With the EIB being a private equity investor in Morocco since 1999, she noted that the European institution “has since committed €354 million (MAD 3.7 billion) to 30 private equity funds as of December 2021.”
The EIB has funded “58 active investments in private companies for a total amount of €465.5 million (MAD 4.9 billion) as of December 2021,” Palanza added.
During the conference, which was organized in partnership with the public financial institution Tamwilcom, Palanza emphasized that she thinks that the country’s economic growth is connected to the growth of the SMEs.
“Intermediated loans to SMEs and mid-capitalization companies represent a key sector of EIB activity,” she said, noting that SMEs in Morocco find difficulties to invest, increase added value, and develop overall on a larger scale.
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In Morocco, Palanza argued, the size of the company is strongly correlated with holding a bank account, a line of credit or the use of self-financing, adding that SMEs have been disproportionately affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Director of EIB Operations in the EU’s neighboring countries highlighted that the bank cooperates with financial intermediaries that offer products for SMEs and micro-enterprises, and that these loans represent one third of EIB’s interventions in Morocco.
Last November, NCA Holding launched the “Morocco21” conference series, an initiative aimed at boosting the exchange of expertise and the sharing of know-how for a better Morocco in the 21st century.
Each conference focuses on the strategic axes of Morocco’s new development model (NDM). Several international experts are expected to attend the conferences to share their experience and exchange best practices with the world leaders.
NCA Holding invites hundreds of guests, experts, decision-makers, business leaders, and civil society actors to reinforce the exchange of knowledge and debates around several topics aimed at improving the economic situation in Morocco.
Upcoming conferences are expected to focus on the ecosystems of scientific research and innovation, the acceleration of clean energies, and the inclusion of Dakhla city as a new African hub for foreign investment.
As the world’s largest multilateral donor, notably for climate finance, the EIB is a non-profit institution that implements EU funding policies. Its shareholders are the 27 EU Member States.
