IFC and al Amana Microfinance Partner to Support SMEs, Women in Business in Morocco

From left to right: Manuel Reyes-Retana, IFC Regional Industry Director for FIG, Africa, Yousef Bencheqroun, Director General of al Amana Microfinance, Sandra Boumah, IFC FIG Manager,  Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC Regional Director for North Africa, Ahmed Ghazali, Chairperson, Al Amana Microfinance and Xavier Reille, IFC Country Manager for the Maghreb.

​

Rabat, Morocco, July 13, 2022 — IFC and al Amana Microfinance, one of Morocco's largest micro lenders, are building on a longstanding partnership with a new program to increase access to finance for smaller businesses in the country, especially those run by women. The partnership will support increased economic activity in Morocco, job creation, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Morocco's small businesses particularly hard, leaving many scrambling for funding to maintain operations. Access to finance remains an ongoing problem in the country, especially among women and those in rural areas.

Under the partnership agreement, IFC will provide al Amana Microfinance with an $8 million loan, which al Amana will use to extend its reach to more micro-entrepreneurs and informal enterprises. At least half of the proceeds will be directed to support women and women-owned businesses.

"IFC is a true partner in our time of need," said Yousef Bencheqroun, Director General of al Amana Microfinance. "Many small enterprises in Morocco have suffered during the pandemic and have had to scale down or temporarily shut operations. This new funding will enable us to meet the needs of our clients so that they can resume activities to a pre-pandemic level."

"Our support to al Amana Microfinance will ensure that many small businesses, especially those run by women, will have access to the funds they need to maintain and grow their operations," said Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC Director for North Africa. "Through this financing, IFC demonstrates its confidence in microfinance institutions to continue supporting the most underserved micro-entrepreneurs through the pandemic and the current challenging economic times."

IFC's funding for al Amana Microfinance is drawn from its Base of the Pyramid Program, which was launched in 2021 to provide crisis relief to financial services providers serving smaller enterprises. The Base of the Pyramid Program is an extension of IFC's Fast Track COVID-19 Facility.

IFC first partnered with al Amana Microfinance in 2006 to support the lender through anticipated regulatory changes in Morocco. IFC has since provided financing and advisory services to help the institution strengthen its risk management, support its digital transformation, and bring its governance and environmental and social practices in line with best international standards

About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Stay Connected

www.facebook.com/IFCAfrica/

www.twitter.com/IFCAfrica

www.youtube.com/IFCvideocasts

www.ifc.org/SocialMediaIndex

About al Amana
Leader in its sector, and in the MENA region, al Amana Microfinance counts more than 2,400 employees committed to manage a network of 616 branches of which 86 mobile branches serving remote rural areas. al Amana Microfinance serves 322,000 microentrepreneurs as of December 2021 of which 42% were women and 48% in rural areas with an outstanding balance of more than MAD2.7 billion.
Certified both ISO 9001 in 2015 and Smart Campaign, al Amana offers inclusive financial services to income generating businesses and very-small businesses such as financing, money transfers, and microinsurance, as well as non-financial services like training and support for commercialization.  www.alamana.org.ma