The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, Managing Director of the IFC, Makhtar Diop, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, CEO of the OCP Group, Mostafa Terrab, and several other Moroccan and foreign personalities.
Signed on the occasion of the Annual Meetings of the WB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the agreements cover support for food security, access to finance, sustainable agriculture and construction in Morocco and other parts of Africa. The financing will also help support Morocco's efforts to cope with the economic effects of the September 8 earthquake.
The four investment projects reflect IFC's commitment to the sustainability of African private sector activity, which contributes to job creation and the provision of essential goods and services.
The projects include a $106 million loan to OCP Group, the world's largest producer of phosphate-based fertilizers, to finance its ambitious solar power plant program and help green the world's food systems.
The second financing consists of a $36 million risk-sharing mechanism set up with Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) and Compagnie marocaine de goutte-à-goutte et de pompage (CMGP), a Moroccan company that produces and distributes irrigation systems, designed to support sustainable agriculture in Morocco, particularly in the earthquake-affected region.
The third investment is a $10 million equity investment, in partnership with Mediterrania Capital, in Moroccan financial services provider CASHPLUS, with the aim of promoting financial inclusion and access to financial services in the country.
It is about a $45 million green loan to the Moroccan cement manufacturer Ciments de l'Afrique (CIMAF), to support the production of low-carbon cement in Africa.
Under the terms of an agreement signed on the same occasion, the IFC also undertook to provide advisory services, in collaboration with the Regional Investment Center (CRI) for the Marrakech-Safi region, to assess the impact of the earthquake on the local economy and take appropriate measures to support the businesses affected.
This advisory support is part of the WB Group's broader response program to mobilize financing and expertise to help Morocco rebuild and restore communities affected by the earthquake, according to IFC.
"These transformative investments underline our commitment to mobilizing private capital and encouraging sustainable development in Morocco, in line with the government's strategy of promoting the private sector as an engine of growth," said Diop.
"As we commemorate 60 years of partnership with Morocco, IFC is also fully committed to playing a central role in the Kingdom's recovery and reconstruction efforts following last month's earthquake," he added.
Over the past six decades, IFC has partnered with Morocco to unleash the full potential of the private sector, helping to position the country as a leading center for trade, investment and innovation in Africa.
Since 1962, IFC has worked with over 100 public and private sector partners in Morocco, mobilizing and investing over $3.5 billion in projects to support small business, industry, agribusiness, infrastructure development and the financial sector.
IFC is the leading private-sector-oriented development institution in emerging countries.