EBRD provides €40 million financing to Morocco

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on Tuesday a support for small businesses and trade in Morocco with a €40 million financing package to Crédit Immobilier et Hôtelier, SA (CIH).

The virtual signing ceremony took place with the presence of the chairman and CEO of CIH, Lotfi Sekkat, EBRD representatives Francis Malige, Managing Director for Financial Institutions, Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie, Head of Morocco, and Mike Taylor, Head of Financial Institutions of the SEMED region.

According to the EBRD, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the core of the Moroccan economy and are the most affected by the current health and economic crisis.

Under this facility, the EBRD will provide a €20 million loan to CIH to provide as medium-term financing to private SMEs, increasing the availability of funding beyond the Greater Casablanca-Rabat region, where 70 per cent of the Moroccan economy is concentrated, said the European Bank in a statement.

In addition to this financing, the EBRD is providing a €20 million trade finance line to help facilitate the export and import transactions of Moroccan businesses, the same source added.

Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested €2.4 billion in Morocco through 65 projects.