SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT IN MOROCCO
SBS started operating in this prospective recipient country in 2012 with funding from the European Union through the Neighbourhood Investment Facility.
Country Strategy
SMEs form the backbone of Morocco’s economy. They account for more than 95 per cent of all enterprises and 48 per cent of total employment.
The business environment has improved over the past five years due to continuous reforms, but regional discrepancies remain pronounced, especially outside the golden triangle of Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.
MSMEs are predominantly family-owned and small in size. Access to finance is a major challenge due to the lack of dedicated MSME products on the banking side and financial illiteracy on the MSME side. The MSME market is characterised by a large informal sector creating unfair competition, lower productivity and limited access to finance and export.
MSMEs also face internal challenges that constrain growth, such as excessive centralisation of management and lack of corporate governance – common issues in family-owned businesses. Underdeveloped value chain is more pronounced in agribusiness and is a major concern for export-oriented MSMEs.
SBS operations in Morocco started with activities to raise awareness of the benefits of accessing well-designed advisory services. The SBS team has identified priority sectors such as agribusiness, textile and apparel, ICT, engineering and electrical.
Operations began in the Great Casablanca area and will extend to less-developed areas. Low female employment and high youth unemployment, particularly in rural areas of Morocco, can hinder economic growth. Therefore the SBS programmes are designed to help address these and other cross-cutting issues – such as energy and water efficiency – once a good operational level is reached.
SBS operations in Morocco focus on:
increasing efficiency and productivity of enterprises
improving management practices
promoting corporate governance and transparency
improving the quality of advisory services
developing the consultancy market, especially in the rural regions
strengthening the existing infrastructure and contributing to the institutionalisation of the business advisory market
promoting energy efficiency
supporting larger agribusiness companies under the joint EGP-Agribusiness direct industry assistance programme
contributing to policy dialogue between the EBRD and local stakeholders.
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