The African Development Bank Group ,through the African Green Banks Initiative and the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance, launched on 28 January a $1 million technical assistance program for Crédit Agricole du Maroc Group (GCAM).
The financing will support strengthening GCAM’s institutional, operational and financial capacities to enable it to tap concessional and private capital, identify, structure and finance green projects, and monitor climate impact.
Under the technical assistance, target projects will include high-impact sectors, from sustainable agriculture to rural development, water management, clean energy, resilient infrastructure and connectivity. It will also align GCAM funding with international climate finance standards.
“This partnership between the African Development Bank Group and the Crédit Agricole du Maroc Group confirms the ability of African institutions to play a strategic role in financing ambitious climate projects,” said Achraf Tarsim, the African Development Bank Group’s Country Manager for Morocco. “With its high-impact structural achievements, Morocco has consolidated its position as a benchmark country for green finance right across the continent.”
Deputy General Manager, Mustapha Chehhar, said: “Through this initiative, the Crédit Agricole du Maroc Group has consolidated its leadership in green finance and is gradually expanding its area of intervention beyond agriculture, agribusiness and the rural world, in order to also support investments in strategic sectors such as resilient infrastructure and connectivity, in support of the climate transition and the sustainable development of Morocco.”
The programme advances Morocco’s compliance with Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and strengthens the alignment of national financial flows with the country’s climate priorities. It also paves the way for access to international climate finance and the harnessing of private capital for structural projects capable of supporting ecological transition and sustainable development.
It also aligns with Bank Group President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points which comprise: mobilising Africa’s financial resources, reforming and strengthening financial systems, leveraging the continent’s population growth, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure while delivering real added value.
Since 1978, the African Development Bank Group has mobilised nearly €15 billion to fund more than 150 projects and programmes in Morocco. Its interventions cover strategic sectors such as transport, social protection, water and sanitation, energy, agriculture, governance and finance.
