Efforts aimed at helping small and medium scale businesses in Morocco to remain afloat is yielding fruits with the €40 million financing package from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support private businesses and trade in Morocco. The package which will be disbursed through Crédit Immobilier et Hôtelier, SA will help to strengthen resilience of local economy.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the core of the Moroccan economy and are the most affected by the current health and economic crisis. This facility is in line with the EBRD’s and CIH’s commitment to strengthening the resilience of Moroccan small businesses and to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Under this facility, the EBRD will provide a €20 million loan to CIH to provide as medium-term financing to private SMEs, increasing the availability of funding beyond the Greater Casablanca-Rabat region, where 70 per cent of the Moroccan economy is concentrated.

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This is expected to help the swift recovery of the local economy, as well as strengthen its resilience in the medium and long term. In addition to this financing, the EBRD is providing a €20 million trade finance line to help facilitate the export and import transactions of Moroccan businesses.The partnership, the first signed between the EBRD and CIH, will support CIH in its strategic focus towards SMEs by increasing its lending capacity to this sector.

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The virtual signing ceremony took place with the presence of EBRD representatives Francis Malige, Managing Director for Financial Institutions; Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie, Head of Morocco; Mike Taylor, Head of Financial Institutions of the SEMED region; and the chairman and CEO of CIH, Lotfi Sekkat.

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Operating in Morocco since 1920, CIH Bank is a universal bank offering innovative and digital banking solutions, serving individuals, professionals and businesses of all sizes. Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested €2.4 billion in Morocco through 65 projects.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry