The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has joined forces with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Union (EU) to provide €25 million in financing to the Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) to support Morocco’s green transition.
This is the third line of credit that the EBRD is providing to BCP under the GCF’s Green Economy Finance Facility (GEFF), a statement from the London-based institution said on Monday.
BCP will provide sub-loans to the private sector, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to promote investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies, the same source said.
Financed by the EBRD, the EU and the GCF, a technical cooperation package worth €4.4 million will support the preparation, implementation and overall monitoring of the project, the Bank said, stressing that the funds will also be used for capacity building at the BCP, as well as for sub-borrower awareness raising activities on climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies.
Central and regional staff of the BCP will also be trained in gender-sensitive green finance to help overcome gender-related supply and demand barriers, the EBRD said.
In addition, the EU will provide a €2.7 million grant that will be used as a 10pc payback incentive for borrowers upon successful implementation of eligible projects, to encourage investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies.
The loan agreement was signed by Antoine Sallé de Chou, Director, head of the EBRD’s Moroccan Resident Office, and Mohammed Kamal Mokdad, Director General of BCP.
The signing took place on the sidelines of the Casablanca leg of the roadshow “Les Régionales de l’Investissement du Groupe BCP,” in the presence of the Group’s President Mohamed Karim Mounir, as well as several personalities.
BCP is one of the main banking institutions in Morocco.
The BCP Group, present in 32 countries around the world, is the first savings bank in Morocco and a major player in the financing of the economy.
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than €3.8 billion in the country through 90 projects.
HA/lb/as/APA