Casablanca, Morocco, September 27, 2022 — IFC this week celebrated 60 years of supporting private sector development, opportunity, and job creation in Morocco through innovative investments and strategic advisory services that have benefitted individuals and businesses across the Kingdom.
Since 1962, IFC has worked with more than 100 partners in Morocco and mobilized and invested more than $3.5 billion in projects to support small businesses, manufacturers, agribusinesses, infrastructure development, and the financial sector. IFC has also helped Moroccan businesses reach new export markets, supporting the country's growth strategy.
To mark the anniversary, IFC Vice President for Africa, Sérgio Pimenta, visited Morocco and met with senior government officials, including Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister for Economy and Finance; Leila Benali, Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development; and Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of the Central Bank.
The principals discussed IFC's support for the Moroccan government's New Model of Development economic strategy, which emphasizes private sector engagement and green and inclusive growth.
Pimenta, who was accompanied by IFC's Director for North Africa, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, also met with representatives of Morocco's private sector confederation, the CGEM, as well as clients in the financial and retail sectors.
"IFC's 60 years of innovation in private sector development in Morocco is built on a foundation of strong relationships with our public and private sector partners," said Pimenta. "We are proud to be a strong and trusted partner of the Kingdom of Morocco, helping build the private sector into a powerful engine of economic and social development. Building on the impact we have already achieved, IFC is eager to continue working with partners in Morocco to create more impact and opportunity."
IFC's first-ever project in Morocco, undertaken in 1963 alongside the World Bank, was to finance the expansion of Morocco's first development bank, Banque Nationale pour le Dévélopment Economic, to increase access to finance for thousands of small businesses.
In 2005, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture in Guerdane, IFC created the world's first public-private partnership (PPP) in the water sector for an irrigation project helping citrus farmers access water for farming.
Over the past three years, IFC has invested and mobilized more than $733 million in Moroccan businesses in the manufacturing, infrastructure, and financial sectors to support jobs and economic activity.
"IFC has been a strategic partner for 60 years and has accompanied Morocco through different phases of development, funding and providing valuable advice in many sectors of activity, such as infrastructure, industry and financial services," said Minister Alaoui. "More recently, IFC has supported Morocco's national and regional vision of becoming a regional hub in Africa. IFC has been a reliable and diligent partner, close to not only the realities on the ground in Morocco but also in sync with the strategy, philosophy and ambition of the Kingdom."
IFC's current focus in Morocco is on four strategic areas for inclusive, sustainable economic growth: support to private sector reforms, sustainable development, regional development, and supporting Moroccan businesses to expand into Africa.
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 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 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 global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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