The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending a 50 million euro credit line to Bank of Africa – BMCE Group (BOA) for on-lending to micro, small, and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) to strengthen Morocco’s private sector’s resilience and competitiveness, said EBRD release.
The €50 million loan is provided under the EBRD Financial Intermediaries Framework (FIF) and will support BOA in funding MSMEs, which remain underserved in Morocco’s banking sector.
A portion of the loan will go toward financing companies functioning in value chains in Tangier and Kenitra–as well as in underserved areas–in order to simplify the process for small enterprises to access capital.
Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships; Brahim Benjelloun-Touimi, Director and General Manager of Bank of Africa; and Khalid Nasr, BOA’s Executive General Manager responsible for CIB and Morocco, inked the credit line.
Bowman stated, “It will support one of the EBRD’s key partners in Morocco in this challenging global economic environment.”
With this higher limit, BOA can also support Morocco’s green initiatives by contributing to the EBRD’s Green Trade Facilitation Programme, namely by sourcing transactions for scrap metal and forestry from sustainable sources.
BOA is Morocco’s third-largest bank. The company is listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange and operates in 32 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America.
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and first benefited from its resources in 2012. The EBRD has invested €4.2 billion in the country through 93 projects to date.