Highlights

On the occasion of the opening statement, Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun and Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri, President of the National Committee for Financial Inclusion and of the Strategic Committee, emanating from the Council, both recalled the priority given to financial inclusion in terms of its direct and tangible effects in the matter of improving the economic and social conditions of the target segments, mainly young people, women, rural and very small enterprises.

The Council also emphasized the need to adapt the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, faced to the structural reforms launched recently, in particular to strengthen its role as a catalyst in order to facilitate and support the reform of the national system of social security.

The Council then examined the items on the agenda, covering in particular the system for monitoring and steering the strategy, the progress of the work of the technical groups, the communication strategy and the adoption of the rules of procedure setting out the composition, the roles and operating procedures of the governance bodies of the National Committee for Financial Inclusion.

Along these lines, the members of the committee welcomed the pace of the projects of the financial inclusion strategy's progress, despite the challenging year of 2020 marked by the covid-19 crisis. This is how several achievements have been accomplished relating to structural reforms for the benefit of the targeted segments, in particular (i) the adoption within the framework of the 2020 amending finance law of a 100% reduction on turnover. made by mobile payment for small traders; (ii) the promulgation of the law on collaborative financing (crowdfunding), (iii) the establishment of a fund to facilitate the restructuring of credits granted by MAMs to income-generating activities; (iv) the launch of the national register of movable securities and (v) the development of new support mechanisms for the financing of micro-enterprises within the capital market, in particular synthetic securitization;

Succeeding discussions and exchanges, the Committee has noted the following recommendations:

• Continue efforts on legislative and regulatory reforms addressing the different levers of the strategy. In this regard, the Committee recommends i) To accelerate the reform of the legislative and regulatory framework governing the finance as well as the Credit Information Office and ii) the short-term implementation of the regulatory framework governing collaborative financing (or crowdfunding);
• Develop new channels for the distribution of inclusive insurance, particularly micro-insurance, given its role in strengthening the protection and economic integration of target populations. The Council has also encouraged insurance companies to offer micro-insurance offers for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in particular in the commercial and craft sectors, in cooperation with the departments concerned;
• Continue the work on the development of Mobile Payment to make it a central vehicle for financial inclusion in the upcoming years, by accelerating in particular the membership of merchants and local agents, the deployment of institutional communication and the strengthening of financial education of the concerned populations;
• To deepen the diagnosis and analysis of the specific needs of rural actors with a view to diversifying the financing offers and products for these aforementioned actors;
• Regarding the medium-sized enterprises, the Committee stressed the importance of strengthening the dynamic of the "Intelaka" programme, in particular the support component;
• Furthermore, and as a transversal axis, the Committee proposed the readjustment of the financial education strategy to support the deployment of the various levers of the National Committee for financial Inclusion;
• Lastly, and in consideration of the importance of the Royal Works Committee for Social Protection, the Committee has given its guidelines for setting up a working group to support the deployment of this project and the acceleration of the pilot experiment on the dematerialization of Tayssir school aids, in view of its generalization to other social programs;

This meeting was held in a hybrid format, which refers to the attendance and participation of Mr. the Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy, Mrs. the President of Moroccan Capital Market Authority, Mr. President by Interim of the Supervisory Authority of Insurance and Social Welfare, Mr. President of the General Confederation of Enterprises in Morocco, Mr. Mohamed Kettani vice-president of the Moroccan Banks association, Mr. President of the Moroccan Federation of Companies Insurance and Reinsurance, Mr. President of the National Federation of Microcredit Associations and Mrs. The President of the Professional Association of Payment Establishments as well as the representatives of the interior and agriculture departments.