FIF - Al Amana - Youth in Business (EFSD+ P3)

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a senior unsecured loan of up to EUR 20m in MAD equivalent to Al Amana Microfinance ("Al Amana") under the Financial Intermediaries ("FIF") Framework Morocco Youth in Business ("YiB") Programme for on-lending to private Moroccan MSMEs owned or led by young entrepreneurs under 35 years of age. It is expected that a minimum of 65% of the proceeds of the loan will be specifically allocated to the regions affected by the earthquake that hit Morocco on 8 September 2023. The loan will be accompanied by a comprehensive technical cooperation package aimed at strenghtening Al Amana and sub-borrowers' capabilities.

Project ID 55260

Status Disbursing

Location

Morocco

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Youssef Bencheqroun
y.bencheqroun@alamana.org.ma
+212 (0)5 37 28 95 00
www.alamana.org.ma
40, Av. Al Fadila C.Y.M 10130 Rabat Morocco

Project ID 55260

Status Disbursing

Location

Morocco

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

19 Nov 2024

Disclosure date

29 Nov 2024

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project description

Project objectives

The project aims at opening up economic opportunities of underserved Moroccan young entrepreneurs, building on the idea that MSMEs owned or led by Youth under 35 years of age represent a unique market opportunity for the Moroccan financial sector and a unique vehicle to increase financial inclusion. Furthermore, the project will also contribute to the recovery and the reconstruction of the regions affected by the September 2023 earthquake by leveraging on Al Amana's unique outreach in the area.

Transition impact

ETI Score:73

r the Inclusive TI quality, the project will help Al Amana adapt its lending practices, strategy, business model and outreach capabilities in order to better serve Youth, thereby helping the microfinance institution expand its lending in favour of this underserved segment. Complementary technical cooperation delivered by EBRD's Advice for Small Businesses will further support sub-borrowers' business acumen and provide them with necessary skills to help them grow their businesses. A minimum of 65% of the proceeds of the loan will be specifically allocated to the regions affected by the September 2023 earthquake, further contributing to the Inclusive TI quality.

Under the Competitive TI quality, the project will contribute to the expansion of Al Amana's loan portfolio extended to young entrepreneurs, with a focus on new clients, asset quality and regional outreach.

Client information

AL AMANA MICROFINANCE

Al Amana Microfinance ("Al Amana"), a Moroccan microfinance institution ("MFI") incorporated in Morocco as a non-profit organization. Al Amana promotes the financial inclusion of underserved populations in Morocco through the provision of microcredits, and ancillary financial and non-financial services. Al Amana operates an extensive network of 560 branches spanning all Moroccan regions to serve 282,000 clients. At YE2023, Al Amana is Morocco's second largest MFI with total assets of ca. EUR 342m and market shares of ca. 33%.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 20,000,000.00

Total project cost

EUR 20,000,000.00

Additionality

The project offers a combination of (i) financing on terms that are not available in the market, (ii) technical cooperation dedicated to capacity building and (iii) gender-mainstreaming activities into a comprehensive package that promotes the financial inclusion of MSMEs owned or led by Youth in Morocco.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised FI (2019). Al Amana, a new client of the Bank, was established in 1997 to provide financial services to microentrepreneurs. Al Amana was one of the first signatories of the Smart Campaign, a global initiative for responsible financial services for underserved consumers, and it has followed the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management, a resource for the microfinance industry, since 2013. Environmental and social (E&S) due diligence was conducted by reviewing Al Amana's E&S diligence questionnaire and relevant publicly available information. E&S due diligence confirmed that Al Amana complies with applicable national laws, and its E&S provisions broadly align with the EBRD's E&S requirements. Al Amana should maintain an environmental and social management system to assess, manage and monitor environmental and social risks and impacts associated with the sub-projects it finances. Al Amana must comply with EBRD's Performance Requirements 2, 4 and 9, the EBRD E&S exclusion and referral lists, apply the EBRD's relevant E&S risk management guidance, and submit annual E&S reports to the Bank. Sub-borrowers financed through Al Amana's loan must comply with national environmental, health, safety, and labour requirements.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The loan will be accompanied by: (i) a technical cooperation ("TC") programme to build Al Amana's internal capacity in supporting young entrepreneurs, with a focus on digital and non-financial services (funded by the SEMED Mutli-Donor Account "MDA") and (ii) a technical cooperation programme to support sub-borrowers' business acumen through various non-financial services implemented by EBRD's Advice for Small Businesses (funded by the Small Business Impact Fund "SBIF" and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund "SSF"). In addition, Al Amana will benefit from (iii) a result-based compensation to partially compensate the microfinance institution for the additional costs associated with serving and on-boarding Youth clients (funded by SEMED MDA), and (iv) a first-loss risk cover for the benefit of Al Amana, covering the portion of the loan allocated to the regions affected by the September 2023 earthquake (funded by SSF). The project is also supported by the European Union ("EU") through EFSD+.

Company Contact Information

Youssef Bencheqroun
y.bencheqroun@alamana.org.ma
+212 (0)5 37 28 95 00
www.alamana.org.ma
40, Av. Al Fadila C.Y.M 10130 Rabat Morocco

PSD last updated

29 Nov 2024

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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FIF - Al Amana - Youth in Business (EFSD+ P3)

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)