After Marrakech, Agadir, Nador and Tangier, the 2014 regional VSE (Very Small, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) Campaign has just made a stopover in Rabat. This is the 14th stage of this initiative, launched jointly by Bank Al Maghrib (BAM), the Professional Group of Banks of Morocco (GPBM), the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), the National Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (ANPME) and the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG). With Rabat occupying second place, after Greater Casablanca, in terms of business creation, the organisation of the regional VSE Campaign in the capital proves to be of great importance for the regional economic fabric.

Placed under the banner "Together for the development of VSEs in your region", this economic campaign has the primary objective of informing and raising awareness among very small, small and medium-sized enterprises about the various programmes and products put in place for them by the State and the banking sector. These are mainly tools to facilitate access to finance and various support programmes.

During this 14th stage, the organisers presented an overview of their activities in terms of promoting entrepreneurship. The idea is to popularise information on financing and support offers. The Rabat stopover allowed participating companies to learn about the work carried out by the public and private sectors in favour of Moroccan businesses. Thus, several announcements were made during this day. These include, in particular, the upcoming opening of the CCG business centre in the Rabat region. Added to this is the establishment of the National Observatory for VSEs. In the same vein, the representative of Bank Al Maghrib stressed that the Central Bank, in partnership with the High Commission for Planning (HCP) and the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC), will set up an independent association that will be responsible for collecting data relating to business demographics.

Still in terms of new developments, Taoufik Lahrach, from the CCG, indicated that Bank Al Maghrib has just released a budget of 1.2 billion DH for the CCG. A budget intended to support investment loans. At the end of October 2014, bank loans guaranteed (in part) by the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG) in favour of VSEs reached approximately 5.2 billion DH, an increase of 44% compared to the same period last year. For his part, Mounir Zraïdi highlighted the results of the various ANPME programmes. Thus, 242 projects have benefited from the "Imtiaz" programme, which has allowed for the creation of 16,000 jobs. As for the "Moussanada" programme, it has supported 1,330 companies between 2010-2014. While "Inmaa" has supported 147 industrial companies.

Diversity of the regional economic fabric

Contributing 14% to wealth creation at the national level, the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaër region is distinguished by the diversity of its economic fabric, where particularly innovative sectors such as microelectronics, offshoring or aeronautics coexist with more traditional sectors such as textiles, leather and agri-food, according to the Regional Investment Centre (CRI). Ambitious tourism prospects are also displayed by the region through the launch of major projects. Similarly, particular interest is given by public authorities to SMEs and VSEs in Rabat. Thus, the "Imtiaz" programme has contributed to the financing of 17 projects. Regarding "Moussanada", some 144 companies were supported between 2010 and 2014.