The World Bank has approved a $450 million loan destined to support Morocco’s efforts to improve public access to financial and digital services.
The funding will enable the Kingdom to expand the availability of financial services and digital infrastructure for individuals and businesses, as well enhancing financial inclusion and digital entrepreneurship.
“The Covid-19 crisis has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable, including women, youth, informal workers and smaller enterprises. For these segments of society, improved financial and digital access has proved critical to reducing their social exclusion during the crisis, and to maintaining access to basic services and promoting digital entrepreneurship,” said Jesko Hentschel, WB Maghreb Country Director.
“The current program supports Morocco’s emergency response to Covid-19 by building grounds for better access to paperless digital services, with transformative reforms designed to create opportunities in the long-term”, he added
For his part, Onur Ozlu, Senior WB Economist, said : “increasing access to finance for start-ups and small enterprises is a key objective of this budget support operation, which also emphasizes expanding access to micro-insurance as key to building resilience.”
The WB loan will also promote innovative financing solutions, such as crowdfunding, an emerging sector in which Morocco is among the front-runners in the Middle East and North Africa.”
“Building on the government’s strategy and the lessons learned during Covid-19, the overall program supports reforms to stir up competition in broadband markets and expand connectivity in about 2,400 underserved rural localities,” said Arthur Foch, Senior Digital development Specialist of the WB.