The European Investment Bank’s Vice-President in charge of the Bank’s activities in the Maghreb, Román Escolano, has signed two major financing agreements to support the private sector and higher education in Morocco, worth a total of €105 million.

“These are emblematic financing agreements,” said Román Escolano, “the first for the EIB in highly strategic sectors for Morocco: the private sector with the agro-industrial sector and the training of young people in a University of Excellence: the Euromed University of Fez.”

With private companies seen as the driving force for growth and employment, the EIB has decided to finance Diana Holding to the tune of €35 million in order to support its development and competitiveness in Africa and at international level.

This first EIB financing in the Moroccan agro-industry sector will enable the holding company to modernize its production and distribution methods and thus increase its capacity for bottling non-alcoholic beverages. It will also be a valuable assistance to the construction of a station for conditioning and distributing agricultural products.

The initiative will create more than 700 new direct and indirect jobs.

EIB funding for the Fez eco-campus acts to support a centre of academic excellence: “The EIB is particularly proud to finance this project of excellence, which will be able to welcome more than 6,000 students representing several nationalities from the Euro-Mediterranean region and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Escolano, adding: “It is expected that 80% of the student body will benefit from opportunities for international mobility, with the key to obtaining a double diploma recognized in Europe.”

The university is a flagship project for the Union for the Mediterranean, which will contribute to strengthening regional integration and stability through intercultural dialogue and cooperation in the fields of higher education, research and innovation.

In full compliance with the objectives of COP22, special attention will finally be given to the protection of the environment and the energy efficiency of buildings, including the installation of solar panels that will cover part of the site’s electrical needs.

The EIB’s €70 million in financing will be supplemented by financial support from the European Union, through its Neighbourhood Investment Facility, which has just approved a €13 million investment grant.

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Press release

EIB website

EU Delegation Morocco