Rabat, Morocco, May 9, 2019— IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a €14 million loan to KMR Holding Pédagogique (KMR), a leading pan-african higher education provider, to expand medical training in Morocco and Senegal and to increase the number of health professionals in both countries.
KMR will use the financing to set up Morocco’s first private medical faculty at the Université Privée de Marrakech, one of the country’s leading private universities. KMR will also expand the Saint Christopher Iba Mar Diop University of Medicine in Dakar, Senegal. Among other work, the school will build a 250-bed student dormitory. The financing is expected to help increase the number of physicians and health professionals in Morocco and Senegal, where there is a severe shortage of doctors.
“The investment from IFC will help us grow into a leading pan-African education player, particularly in the healthcare,” said Mohamed Kabbadj, founder and CEO of KMR. “It will also help up address fundamental educational issues, such as affordability and employability.”
IFC’s financing is designed to support the growth of tertiary private educators in Morocco and Senegal, easing pressure on over-burdened public universities and supporting programs that prepare students to work in a fast-changing economy.
“IFC supports higher education providers to help provide the job market with highly skilled youth,” said Xavier Reille, IFC Maghreb Country Manager. “Tertiary education is a strategic priority for IFC in Morocco, where we want to support Moroccan education champions to bring new and innovative private sector solutions to improve access to education and employability.”
As part of the project, IFC will advise KMR on environmental, social, and governance issues, helping the company to follow international best practices.
The project is part of IFC’s strategy in Morocco to help strengthen human capital development, bring private sector innovation into tertiary education, and support regional integration.
Since 2010, IFC has committed $125 million to education projects in the Middle East and Africa.
About KMR
KMR Holding Pedagogique is a leading state-recognized multi-disciplinary private higher education platform in Francophone Africa with over 8,000 students across state-of-the-art campuses in Casablanca, Marrakech, and Dakar. KMR Holding Pedagogique owns and operates UPM, one of Morocco’s leading private universities, which is accredited by the Moroccan state. UPM acquired from Laureate International Universities a private university in Casablanca, Université Internationale de Casablanca in 2018, also accredited as a private university by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, KMR acquired Saint Christopher Iba Mar Diop (SCIMD) in Dakar, a leading medical university with more than 1,400 students from 21 African nations.
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
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