The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and theEuropean Union (EU) join forces to support women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Morocco. The Bank has just announced that it will provide an unsecured senior loan of up to $10 million to the Fondation Arrawaj as part of the programme Women in Business of the EBRD aimed at supporting MSMEs led by women. EBRD funds will also provide extended support to women-led MSMEs located in regions affected by the September 2023 earthquake.
The mechanism will be reinforced by a EU-funded technical cooperation program. It will help provide capacity building and advisory services to MSMEs led by women in order to support the development of their know-how and entrepreneurial skills. L’investment is also supported by the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). Thanks to its program offinancial inclusionthe EFSD+ introduces new innovative financial instruments in the southern and eastern region of the Mediterranean (Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza) and in Eastern Europe and Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).
As part of the EBRD’s response to Al Haouz earthquake, the Arrawaj Foundation will also benefit from financial support from the Bank, with a particular focus on women-led MSMEs in the affected regions. This is theone of the first transactions under the Bank’s initial intervention program, worth up to €250 million for the period 2023 to 2025, announced in October 2023, aimed at rebuilding the Moroccan economy in regions affected by the earthquake. It will enable the Bank to provide a rapid response to the consequences of the earthquake while remaining fully in line with its main objective of promote female entrepreneurship in Moroccowomen being among the populations most affected by the event.
Since it began operating in Morocco, the EBRD has supported women-led MSMEs, which remain an underserved segment. Only a limited share of businesses owned and managed by women have access to bank loans. This mechanism will promote the economic inclusion of women, which remains low. This investment is the EBRD’s second partnership with Arrawaj. It will help the foundation improve its current business model and improve its practices to better engage with women-led MSMEs and meet their financial needs.
Founded in 1996 under the name “FONDEP», the Arrawaj Foundation is the third microfinance bank in Morocco. As of June 2023, it operates through 211 branches in 14 regions.
2023-12-12 12:41:07
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