The Arab Spring Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Employment, also known as the Farasee Foundation, is a nonprofit organization that was created to launch “1 million jobs for Middle East and North Africa (MENA)” initiative, which intends to provide institutional investors and sovereign funds with opportunities to develop food security and jobs.
Search Results for: morocco
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Focus Note Distributed at Fifth African Microcredit Conference Lauds Morocco as a “Microcredit Champion,” Contrary to Past Reports Expressing Concern
At the recently concluded Fifth African Microcredit Conference, which was held in Ethiopia, a focus note reportedly commended the Moroccan microcredit sector, remarking that from 2003 to 2007 microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) loan portfolio “multiplied 11 times and client outreach by four” in the country [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Access to Microfinance Boosting Youth Employment in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
The Magharebia, a website which covers news about northwest Africa, reports that youth in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are increasingly utilizing microcredit to counter unemployment [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tuninvest-Africinvest Announces Close of Maghreb Private Equity Fund III, Investing in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt
The Tuninvest-Africinvest Group, a Tunisia-based private equity company that invests in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recently announced the closing of its Maghreb Private Equity Fund III (MPEF III) with approximately EUR 96 million (USD 134 million) in capital commitments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility Loans $749k to Pearl Microfinance Limited of Uganda, Association Al Karama de Micro Credit of Morocco
responsAbility Social Investments AG, a Swiss investment company that manages four microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs), recently reported to MicroCapital that it has made debt investment totaling USD 749,439 in microfinance institutions Pearl Microfinance Limited of Uganda and Association Al Karama de Micro Credit (Al Karama) of Morocco [1].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases Initial Set of “Country Briefings” Covering Morocco, Kenya, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Peru
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has recently released its first set of “Country Briefings” which provide information on microfinance institution (MFI) performance, funding structure and supply and demand.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Releases 2009 Arab Microfinance Report with Focus On Microfinance Sector Crisis in Morocco
The Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) has partnered up with Sanabel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing Arab microfinance [1], and CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), an independent policy and research center housed at the World Bank Group [2], to release the Arab Microfinance Analysis and Benchmarking Report for 2009 [3].
MICROCAPITAL EVENT: The Second Microfinance & New Technologies Summit, March 11-12, 2010, Marrakech, Morocco
Event Name: The Second Microfinance & New Technologies Summit
Event Date: March 11-12, 2010
MICROCAPITAL STORY: The National Federation of Microcredit Associations (FNAM) in Morocco to form Committee to set up more Microcredit Associations; Calls for more Diversification of Microcredit Services
The National Federation of Microloan Assocation (FNAM), a Moroccan non-governmental organization (NGO), has called for the need to revise the existing microcredit strategy in Morocco in an effort to make microcredits accessible to more people, according to a press release on Magharebia, the news and information website about the Maghreb region in Africa. In this regard, the FNAM plans to set up a committee that would focus on establishing microcredit associations in those Moroccan regions that are greatest hit by poverty. The term Maghreb is generally applied to the countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Magharebia web site is sponsored by the United States Africa Command, the military command responsible for supporting and enhancing US efforts to promote stability, co-operation and prosperity in the region.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: The MasterCard Foundation and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) to Provide Microfinance Services for Poor Youth in Egypt and Morocco
The MasterCard Foundation and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), a Canadian Christian organization, have announced a USD 5 million five-year program that will provide financial services to youth between the ages of 15 and 24 in Morocco and Egypt. Microfinance services for the youth market have traditionally been scarce due to the perception that youth borrowers are higher risk because they lack collateral or work experience. The program, titled Youth Invest, will enable microfinance institutions to develop and test innovative products designed specifically for the youth maket.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: BMCE Bank of Morocco Lends $12.5m to Microfinance Institution (MFI) FONDEP
Moroccan microfinance institution (MFI) FONDEP is to receive a loan of MAD 100 million (USD 12.5 million) from commercial bank BMCE (Banque marocaine du commerce extérieur) of Morocco, with a USD 3 million guarantee split between Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd, a for-profit venture that provides capacity building and financing to Arab MFIs, and the Grameen Foundation’s Growth Guarantee. It is the largest leveraged commercial transaction for a Moroccan MFI.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Morocco and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) sign $697.5m Compact, JAIDA and Other Microfinance Programs to Receive $46.2m
Morocco and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government corporation designed to reduce poverty in the world’s poorest countries, have signed a five-year USD 697.5 million Millennium Challenge Compact to encourage sustainable economic growth in the Kingdom of Morocco. The compact, which officially began August 9th, is the largest of its kind to date. MCC will supply USD 118 million per year for five years to various initiatives spanning multiple sectors in the country. As part of the compact, USD 46.2 million will be given to the Financial Services Project, a program intended to increase the supply and decrease the costs of financial services, particularly for microfinance institutions.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: IFC Makes USD 20 Million Investment Agreement with the Association Al Amana to Promote Microfinance in Morocco
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and the Association Al Amana for
the Promotion of Microenterprise, a microfinance institution (MFI) in Morocco, have signed an investment agreement of USD 20 million. The agreement includes a subordinated loan to Al Amana, a local currency guarantee, and a partial credit guarantee. The goal is to increase Al Amana’s microfinance operations and improve services for its 400,000 active borrowers.
KfW Entwicklungsbank of Germany Establishes the Microfinance Fund JAIDA in Morocco
KfW Entwicklungsbank has established the financing institution, JAIDA, with the aim to serve the Moroccan microfinance sector with funding and support. JAIDA was created as part of a cooperative venture with the Caisse de DépÌ«t et de Gestion (CDG), a Moroccan public financial institution, the Agence Fran̤aise de Développement (AFD), the French Development Agency, and the French Caisse de DépÌ«t et de Consignation (CDC), a French state-owned financial institution.
International Finance Corporation Continues Support of Microfinance with US$17 Million in New Investments in Fundación WWB Colombia and Morocco’s FONDEP Micro-Crédit
MicroCapital reported on the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Citigroup’s joint investment in Uganda Microfinance Limited at the end of March. In addition to contributing to the growing trend of cooperation between microfinance institutions and commercial banks, the IFC funded two additional deals during the first quarter of 2006 totaling nearly US$17 million.
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New Open-Source Credit Bureau Application Introduced in Morocco
The credit bureau pilot project underway in
Additional Resources1) Main article discussed in entry: "Model Credit Bureau ‘Open-Source’ Solution Being Tested in Morocco." 2)
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ABI to Leverage $69m from EIB to Boost SME, Mid-cap Financing in West Africa – Focusing on Women, Youth
Atlantic Business International (ABI), a holding company owned by the Morocco-based Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) Group, recently entered an agreement with the EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) whereby EIB will fund half of EUR 130 million (USD 138 million) in funding to be distributed via ABI’s Banque Atlantique institutions in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The funds are to be directed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps with the goal of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credit Bank, FSD Kenya Engaging SACCOs in Effort to Reduce Remittance Costs for Rural Kenyans
The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently announced a pair of programs that will operate in Kenya under the EU’s Platform for Remittances, Investments and Migrants’ Entrepreneurship in Africa (PRIME Africa). In particular, IFAD will fund