The FINANCIAL — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting its support of Moroccan micro enterprises and entrepreneurs with financing for Albaraka, one of the country’s leading microfinance institutions.
The €5 million loan will be used by Albaraka to on-lend to their clients in the micro business segment. The subloans will be offered in Moroccan dirhams, according to EBRD.
Albaraka, formerly known as FONDEP, is the EBRD’s first partner in the microfinance sector in Morocco. The company was founded as a non-governmental organisation focusing on microfinance which then transformed into a microfinance institution and remains a non-profit organisation managed by a board of directors.
EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti said: “Moroccan micro and small businesses are crucial for employment and economic growth in the country but they are largely underserved by the formal financial system. By increasing the amount of financing available to the smallest businesses and individual entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas and poor urban areas, the EBRD is contributing not only to the growth of the sector, but also to the communities dependent on micro enterprises.”
The EBRD started investing in Morocco in 2012. To date, the Bank has invested €640 million in 22 projects across the country, in addition to €150 million of trade facilitation credit lines with local banks. The EBRD has also provided technical assistance to more than 200 local small and medium-sized enterprises.
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