Organised at the initiative of a joint commission bringing together Bank Al-Maghrib, the Professional Group of Banks of Morocco (GPBM), the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG) and the National Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (ANPME), this large campaign aims to inform VSEs/SMEs and raise their awareness of the various programmes and products put in place by both the State and the banking sector. It proposes to boost the action of regional bodies with a view to ensuring better support for the said companies, given their socio-economic contribution to the national productive fabric.
Falling within a participatory and innovative approach, this third edition offered the opportunity to the VSEs/SMEs present to learn about the tools and new products made available to them by their various partners and to exchange with them on the prospects for the development of their company.
This meeting was indeed the occasion for El Hadi Chaib Ainou, Director General of the GPBM, Ghita Tahiri, Head of the Financial Inclusion and Regulation Department at Bank Al-Maghrib, Hicham Zanati Serghini, Director General of the CCG, and Mounir Zraïdi, Head of Support Programmes at the ANPME, to review a battery of measures intended to support VSEs/SMEs.
The various speakers were unanimous in stressing that this campaign is dedicated to all VSEs/SMEs interested in both the growth of their activity and the socio-economic development of their region, estimating that this action constitutes an ideal platform to further consolidate the relationship of the VSE/SME with its partners and clarify the relationship between banks and companies.
It is a true approach of proximity and sharing aimed at raising the awareness of the VSE/SME about the support and accompaniment measures dedicated to it, they specified.
In this context, they recalled the establishment of the Financial Support Fund for VSEs/SMEs which has the mission of co-financing, with banks, operations inherent to the restoration of the sustainability of the financial balance of companies deemed viable but experiencing cyclical difficulties.
The programmes put in place by the ANPME in support of small and medium enterprises were also mentioned. Some 39,000 entrepreneurs operating in SMEs and VSEs benefited from this support between 2003 and 2013. During this period, the Agency contributed 6 billion dirhams to the investments mobilised within the framework of the accompaniment and support for the said companies, it is added.
This action is intended to be the extension of previous regional communication campaigns initiated by the joint commission in 2007 and 2011 in the main regions of the Kingdom. For its preparation, a questionnaire was sent by the CGEM and the banks to a sample of VSEs/SMEs with the aim of identifying the obstacles they face. The processing of this questionnaire made it possible to identify the expectations and needs of the said companies relating, in particular, to the strengthening of advice and information on new financing and support offers as well as the improvement of the business climate.
The campaign, which was launched last Monday in Marrakech, takes the form of a tour that will travel, until December 9th, to 14 other cities in the Kingdom. VSEs/SMEs represent an important part of the Moroccan productive fabric insofar as they constitute the main engine of the national economy and a true lever for development. It should be recalled that a loan agreement of 100 million euros, in support of the programme to support the development of the financial sector, was signed recently between Morocco and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group. This programme specifically aims to improve the access of populations and companies, particularly VSEs/SMEs, to financial services.
