The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers yesterday authorized the granting of a loan for a maximum amount of 20 million euros to the Moroccan financial company JAIDA S.A. under the Fund for the Promotion of Development (FONPRODE).
JAIDA S.A. is a Moroccan financial company that operates from Rabat “and has been playing a key role in supporting financial inclusion in Morocco” as a fund for financing microfinance organizations in the Maghreb country, according to the Government. Established in 2007, it is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Morocco (Banque Al Maghrib).
The granting of the loan coincides with the current period of relaunching diplomatic relations with Morocco following the unexpected decision of Pedro Sánchez’s government to recognize Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. That decision, which put an end to the very serious diplomatic crisis experienced in 2021, has resulted in a roadmap for the reactivation of sectoral cooperation “in all areas of common interest: economic, commercial, energy, industrial and cultural, among others”.
The V Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation states that FONPRODE should pay special attention to interventions in microfinance, remittance banking, small and medium-sized enterprises, social economy, venture capital, infrastructure creation and Public-Private Partnerships for Development. In addition, according to the Government, “several actions approved within the framework of FONPRODE contribute to support the strategic objectives of the Spanish Cooperation in Morocco, and more specifically, the objective of economic development, promoting economic opportunities for the poorest”.
“In order to adapt Spanish Cooperation to the new socio-political context of the Mediterranean region and taking as a reference the evolution of the European Neighborhood Policy, Spanish Cooperation in Morocco is supporting in a special way civil society, democratic reform processes and the strengthening of the economic fabric, prioritizing gender in a cross-cutting manner,” the Executive continued. In order to optimize its work, the Cooperation has concentrated mainly on three zones: the Northern zone (Tangier-Tetouan, Oriental and Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate regions), the Greater Casablanca region and the coastal zone of the Souss-Massa region.
“The support to several microfinance companies through JAIDA and its important distribution network, with branches and points of sale in the areas prioritized by the Spanish Cooperation, facilitates an alignment with AECID’s priorities in the country, making possible eventual synergies for Spanish action in different areas of development,” the Government concluded.
