Investment Projects in Morocco

In fiscal year 2007, IFC committed $20 million in Al Amana, the leading microfinance institution in Morocco. Al Amana provides micro credit to low-income groups and individuals in various sectors including commerce and agriculture.

In fiscal year 2006, IFC committed three projects totaling $55.6 million:

• $40 million equity investment and stand-by loan to Veolia Water International targeted for Morocco, which was part of a multi-region investment
• $12.3 million in a regional private equity fund, Maghreb Private Equity Fund II, targeting small and medium enterprises in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia
• $3.3 million partial credit guarantee to Fondep, a microfinance institution, allowing it to mobilize $6.6 million in local currency funding

Other Key Projects:

IFC invested about $100 million for its own account and mobilized $300 million from participant banks in Meditel, the second GSM operator in fiscal year 2001

In fiscal year 2005, IFC issued a local currency bond of $120 million, the first local issue by a supranational entity in Morocco and the first IFC issue in MENA and Africa

From fiscal year 2001-2005, IFC advised the Government of Morocco in structuring successfully the first Public-Private Partnership in irrigation in the Guerdane regin in Morocco. This constituted the first transaction of the kind worldwide.

Trends of Future Investments

Thanks to a stronger presence on the ground and well-established relations with the private sector and the government, IFC is now actively pursuing investments in tourism, power, transport, agribusiness, commercial banks, and health and education sectors. In addition, IFC is exploring the use of structured finance instruments to provide funding at the subnational level in Morocco. In addition, IFC is assessing proposals to invest in diversified or sectoral funds, while many Moroccan companies are successfully developing a specific strategy towards Africa, in particular in the financial sector, infrastructure, telecom, and transport. This South-South cooperation is strategic for IFC and we are committed to supporting these developments.