The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) ramped up its investments in Morocco last year, doubling its commitments from €211m in 2021 to €528m in 2022 spread over 14 projects.
The EBRD indicates that it has made a record investment of 360 million euros in the private sector and 170 million euros in support of the green economy in Morocco, adding that 58% of the investments made go in the direction of gender equality and greater inclusion.
“Anxious to help the country achieve its transition to a low-carbon economy, the Bank has co-financed the modernization of the Koudia Al Baida wind farm in the north of the country, by granting a senior loan of 44 million euros. . This was the first project to increase the capacity of a wind farm in Africa”, we also learn.
The institution invested in a bond issued by the city of Agadir, the capital of the Souss-Massa region, for a total amount of 1 billion Moroccan Dirhams. Agadir thus became the first Moroccan city to participate in the EBRD’s “Green Cities” Programme.
The EBRD has also provided additional financing of EUR 100 million for the construction of the port of Nador West Med (NWM), thereby unlocking the economic potential of the eastern part of Morocco and improving access to regional infrastructure. The Bank also provided a package of technical cooperation services worth €1 million, to assess the potential role of NWM in the hydrogen value chain.
In 2022, the EBRD carried out 88 advisory-type projects in favor of SMEs, most of them located in regions other than those of Casablanca or Rabat.
“In 2022, the Bank held its Annual Meeting for the first time in Morocco, on the theme Meeting Challenges in a Turbulent World. Confirming its support for the southern and eastern part of the Mediterranean basin (region (SEMED), the Bank made investments in 2022 for a record total amount of 2.4 billion euros spread over 50 projects, of which 70% in the private sector and 42% are in the green economy. Half of these projects had a dimension promoting inclusion and gender equality”, chairs the EBRD.
