Women’s entrepreneurship, a necessity for Morocco!

Building on the success of its previous virtual events, the CCSM is continuing its mission of supporting the business community and encouraging debate and reflection within it by organising its second webinar of the year. On 26 March, nearly a hundred people followed this meeting moderated by Christophe de Figueiredo, President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco. The event featured Leïla Doukali, President of the Association of Women Business Owners in Morocco (AFEM), Ghita Hannane, Morocco Country Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Khalid Benalla, Deputy Managing Director in charge of retail and professional banking at CIH. Speakers who all stressed the importance of women’s contribution to the economic and social development of the Kingdom.

An appetite for entrepreneurship

Promoting entrepreneurship is a lever for inclusive growth in Morocco. This necessarily requires the effective involvement of women in decision-making and value creation, with a view to their empowerment and financial autonomy. According to a recent study by Deloitte, 34% of women in Morocco want to start their own business, compared with 17% in France, for example.“This promising figure should encourage economic players to mobilise and support women who wish to start a business so that they succeed in their respective projects. This applies in particular to banks, which should turn more towards companies run by women, given that the latter are generally more creditworthy and rigorous when it comes to repaying debts”, said Leïla Doukali, President of the Association of Women Business Owners in Morocco (AFEM).

For the speaker, one of the obstacles to Moroccan women setting up businesses is access to financing. To address this problem, the President of AFEM highlighted the ‘Gender Bounds’ initiative launched by the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), whose aim is to support women’s empowerment and gender equality by financing activities that contribute to these objectives, as well as ‘Crowdfunding’*. “Morocco has just adopted an appropriate legal framework to regulate this type of financing, with the active participation of potential funders in the country’s development projects through a simple and secure financing mechanism. We should also recall the introduction of the ‘Intilaka’ programme to support and finance Moroccan companies”, Leïla Doukali asserted.

The role of banks

Although there are many financing offers and programmes to help set up businesses, their use by women remains low. Ghita Hannane, Morocco Country Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), stated that with digital transformation and the weight of family responsibilities, banks must adapt to women’s needs.“To support the development of women entrepreneurs, IFC has developed, in collaboration with a local bank, a set of training courses in management techniques, accounting… Support and mentoring are the pillars of developing women’s entrepreneurship”, the speaker said. IFC also conducted a study in Morocco on women’s personal and professional banking markets. It aimed to determine the business opportunity and identify the segment’s various specific needs.

For his part, Khalid Benalla, Deputy Managing Director in charge of retail and professional banking at CIH, indicated that financial players, including CIH, are making enormous efforts to design and offer new customer-oriented financial services tailored to women’s needs. “CIH participates fully in support and financing programmes for young project initiators and small businesses, particularly those created by women. As a banking institution, CIH is there to support and advise women entrepreneurs. I would also like to point out that there is no difference between a woman and a man in the processing of an application for financing. We focus above all on the business plan and what the project can bring to the Moroccan economic fabric”, Khalid Benalla stated.

There are many ambitious, bold and independent women who wish to contribute fully to Morocco’s economic development. It is time for economic players to engage more with this female spirit of initiative, so necessary for the progress of our country and our society.

*An action that helps mobilise new sources of financing for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs) and young initiators of innovative projects.