Rabat – Morocco’s government announced on Friday, April 7 opening applications for the Forsa support program for entrepreneurs.
With an aim to finance and train 10,000 entrepreneurs, the state-backed program is open to Moroccans residing in the North African country or abroad aged between 18 and 35.
The program aims to support business makers across all sectors of the economy by providing up to MAD 100,000 ($10,000) at zero interest rates, and entrepreneurs benefiting from the program have a maximum of 10 years to pay back loans.
It targets individuals with business ideas or looking to grow their businesses.
The selection procedure for the program goes through four stages, noted the government’s announcement. In the first selection phase, project ideas are examined by experts to assess their level of engagement, motivation, feasibility, as well as their growth prospects.
The initiators of the selected or winning projects will then be called for an interview with experts within their respective regions. After going through the interview, a special commission will evaluate project ideas before candidates can join the Forsa program.
The program then will provide entrepreneurship training, supporting selected candidates in understanding how to structure successful projects.
Training is set to include courses on the development of soft skills, market knowledge, and the development of marketable products and services, among other courses.
During the third phase, an incubating structure will support the selected young entrepreneurs to formulate requests for financing. A special committee will then evaluate the financing requests and allocate funding according to the nature of each project.
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