Highlights

Signing of two grant agreements of the Deauville transition Fund relating to the financing of two projects

28/07/2013
Signing of two grant agreements of the Deauville transition Fund relating to the financing of two projects

​Mr. Nizar Baraka, Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Mohamed Ouzzine, Minister of Youth and Sports and Mr. Simon Gray, Director of the Maghreb Department, Regional Office Middle East and North Africa (World Bank), signed Thursday, July 25th 2013, at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, two grant agreements of the Deauville Transition Fund on the financing of two projects. The World Bank acts as a supporting unit to the implementation of the Transition Fund. The first project focuses on strengthening micro-entrepreneurship for disadvantaged youth in the informal sector. It will be implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. This program aims to provide access to the development of micro-entrepreneurship to disadvantaged young men and women, aged between 18 and 29 years.

The project's main objective is to promote access of 5,000 youth to micro-enterprise development for disadvantaged young men and women, aged between 18 and 29 years, with a high school certificate or less, and who are outside the labor market or who are active in the informal sector. Young people up to the age of 35 may be admitted in order to avoid exclusion that affects a number of older and inactive young people.

The program will focus on supporting the integrated management of micro-entrepreneurship for targeted disadvantaged young people and strengthening institutional capacity. This project will profit from a donation from the Transition Fund amounting to 5 million de dollars.
The project sets as specific objectives:
  • Training 5,000 direct beneficiaries in entrepreneurship, 40% of which are women;
  • Successfully complete the training of 4500 direct beneficiaries in entrepreneurship, 40% of which are women;
  • Provide a job-creation follow-up for at least 12 months for the benefit of 1800 micro-entrepreneurs Young people supported by the project, 40% of which are women.
The second project focuses on the development of micro-finance in Morocco. This program will be implemented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and aims to promote access to finance for low-income households and micro and small enterprises through the development of a sustainable and inclusive micro-finance sector. This project's main axes are:
  • The reinforcement of the micro-finance's institutional, legal, regulatory and tax framework, and its governance.
  • The National Federation of Micro-credit Associations will take full advantage of this axis.
  • Strengthening market infrastructure, product innovation and funding for microfinance; Integrating micro-finance into a strategic national financial inclusion.
This project will profit from a gift of the Transition Fund amounting to $ 4.9 million. The Minister took this opportunity to welcome the level and quality of cooperation relations between Morocco and the World Bank and thanked the institution in the person of Mr. Simon Gray, Director of the Maghreb Department, Regional Office Middle East and North Africa, for the valuable and ongoing support it provides to Morocco for the implementation of key structural reforms.