The virtual signing ceremony took place with the presence of the chairman and CEO of CIH, Lotfi Sekkat, EBRD representatives Francis Malige, Managing Director for Financial Institutions, Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie, Head of Morocco, and Mike Taylor, Head of Financial Institutions of the SEMED region.
According to the EBRD, 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.
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, said the European Bank in a statement.
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 same source added.
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.