EBRD, EU, GCF and Banque Centrale Populaire promote green investment in Morocco

EBRD and GCF to provide funding of up to EUR25 million to Banque Centrale Populaire in Morocco.

New facility to increase private-sector investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation projects

Facility to increase training opportunities and promote women's access to climate finance

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is partnering with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Union (EU) to provide a financing package of up to EUR25million to Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) to support Morocco's green transition.

This is the third facility the EBRD has provided to BCP under the GCF Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) Regional Framework. BCP will extend sub-loans to the private sector, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to foster investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies.

Funded by the EBRD, the EU and the GCF, a technical cooperation package worth EUR4.4 million will support the preparation, implementation and overall monitoring of the project. The funds will also be used to build BCP's capacity, as well as for awareness-raising activities on climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies among sub-borrowers.

BCP central and regional staff will also be trained on gender-responsive green finance to help address gender-specific supply and demand obstacles. The EU will provide a EUR2.7 million grant to be used as a 10 per cent cash-back incentive for borrowers on the successful implementation of eligible projects, to encourage investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies.

The loan agreement was signed by Antoine Salle de Chou, Director, Head of the Moroccan Resident Office of the EBRD, and Mohammed Kamal Mokdad, General Manager of BCP. The signing took place on the sidelines of the Casablanca stopover of BCP Group's Les Regionales de l'Investissement roadshow, in the presence of Group President Mohamed Karim Mounir, as well as several of the country's leading economic figures.

BCP is one of the leading banking institutions in Morocco. It draws its strength from its values of solidarity and its unique organisational structure. It is composed of eight regional cooperative banks, BCP - the central body of the group and a public limited company - specialised subsidiaries, foundations and banks, and representations abroad. The BCP Group is present in 32 countries around the world. It is Morocco's leading savings bank and a major player in financing the economy.

Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became an investee economy in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested almost EUR3.8 billion in the country through 90 projects.