The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) announced on Wednesday support measures for the private sector in Morocco, notably through its credit lines with Moroccan financial institutions amounting to EUR 440 million, to face the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. These credit lines dedicated to financing the private sector would be able to provide working capital and liquidity necessary for businesses to continue their activity, the EIB said in a press release. In addition to this immediate cash assistance, the EIB has decided, exceptionally, to accelerate the disbursement of loans already signed to support small and medium-sized businesses, and said that it is «ready to further strengthen its support and expertise for the health sector for the acquisition of the necessary medical equipment and the strengthening of health infrastructure». «The EIB is strongly mobilized on this funding and we are already in talks with the ministry and our partners to give them all the necessary support», the same source said. The objective of this strong mobilization «is to support the implementation of projects that can help Moroccans concretely and quickly fight on a daily basis the Covid-19 both economically and at the health level». It is part of the «Team Europe» network which, at the initiative of the European Commission, aims to help countries outside the EU face the Covid-19 pandemic and to which the EIB announced a contribution of EUR 5.2 billion. For EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, «the Bank of the European Union is more than ever mobilized to help Morocco face this pandemic». «One of the immediate economic consequences of this pandemic is the sudden lack of liquidity facing small and medium-sized businesses. This is why since the start of the crisis, we have been listening to business and project managers in order to provide them with concrete and appropriate support. We have thus relaxed our procedures to quickly release funding. We are adapting our tools and means of financing», she explained, adding that in the health sector, after having financed the construction and modernization of many hospitals, «our objective is to support the Kingdom in the face of significant need for medical equipment».
