Morocco is the first country of intervention of the group of the French Development Agency (AFD) in the world, with 3.7 billion euros at the end of 2021, distributed among 48 borrowers.
This sum includes outstanding loans for 2.1 billion euros, balances to be paid under loan agreements signed in the amount of 1.2 billion euros and loans granted not yet signed in the amount of 0.4 billion euros, specifies the group, in its report on its 2022-2026 strategy in Morocco, published recently.
The AFD group is made up of the French Development Agency, in charge of financing the public sector and NGOs, research and training on sustainable development, its subsidiary Proparco, dedicated to financing the private sector, and ‘Expertise France, technical cooperation agency.
For the period 2022-2026, the purpose of the group’s intervention in Morocco will be to support the transition to the New Development Model by strengthening its adaptation to climate change and contributing to the reduction of inequalities, specifies the same source.
Four strategic objectives have thus been adopted, namely the revival of private investment and entrepreneurial initiative, the socio-economic inclusion of young people and women through human development, the decarbonization of the economy and the ecological and social resilience of territories.
Three other cross-cutting objectives have also been retained. These are the modernization of public action, experimentation and the promotion of innovation and economic, cultural and solidarity co-investment in Africa.
Between 2017 and 2021, the group granted 2.4 billion euros and deployed the full range of its financial tools in Morocco, according to the same source, which notes that AFD signatures reached 2 billion euros, payments 1.2 billion euros and reimbursements 1.3 billion euros.
For Proparco, signatures over the 2017-2021 period reached 107 billion euros. “Private sector activity lends itself less well to quantified forecasts. It is expected that Proparco will increase its interventions in Morocco and with Moroccan companies in Africa”, underlines the report.
As for Expertise France, it has tripled the volume of its interventions in Morocco since 2019, going from 10 million euros to 30 million euros. She has nine projects in her portfolio at fin 2021.
