Rabat – Land’Or Maroc Industries (LMI) has secured a MAD 36.9 million ($3.97 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to expand operations at its Kenitra cheese plant, EBRD reported in a press release.
Established in 2019, Land’Or Maroc Industries is the Moroccan subsidiary of the Tunisian Land’Or. The Tunisian joint-stock company is a leading producer of processed cheese in the region.
EBRD reported on January 25 that the loan reflects and reinforces the bank’s “support for the Moroccan agribusiness sector and regional integration.”
The $3.97 million loan is set to “finance the acquisition and installation of additional equipment and the construction of a storage extension at [LMI’s] new cheese manufacturing plant in Kenitra, Morocco,” the statement noted.
In 2020, EBRD provided a MAD 114.3 million ($12.29 million) loan package to Land’Or. The initial package funded the construction of the Kenitra cheese plant, which is expected to start operations in the second quarter of 2022.
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As a member of the EBRD Blue Ribbon Program, Land’Or has since February 2020 benefited from two loan packages with a total of MAD 151.2 million ($16.26 million).
The bank’s Blue Ribbon Program operates in all EBRD countries. It provides personalized financing and guidance to growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over a 5-year period to expand their “export potential and operational efficiency,” according to the bank’s website.
Morocco joined the EBRD as a founding member. In 2012, it became a country of operations. Three years later, the EBRD Board of Directors approved the bank’s Strategy for Morocco.
In partnership with the Moroccan government, EU institutions, and other international financial institutions, EBRD seeks to improve the business environment and advance regional economic integration in Morocco.
The strategy aims to promote women’s entrepreneurship, increase financial support to SMEs, promote regional and gender-inclusive economic development, advance the development of capital markets, and improve the efficiency and quality of infrastructure and utility services in the North African country
To date, EBRD has invested MAD 33.55 billion ($3.6 billion) in 80 projects across Morocco.
