Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco, chooses Morocco for her first trip To North Africa

For her first visit to North Africa since her nomination as head of Proparco, Françoise Lombard has chosen Morocco. On this occasion, she will meet with companies supported by Proparco, notably in the health and environment sectors: Amanys and Arma. They illustrate AFD Group's new 2022-2026 strategy, which aims to accompany Morocco on the path of the "New Development Model", at a time when the institution has celebrated its 30th anniversary of presence in Morocco.



Françoise Lombard, Proparco's Chief Executive Officer, has chosen Morocco, the headquarters of the regional office, for her first visit to North Africa, which will take place from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 September 2022.

Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has been present in Morocco for 30 years, its leading country of intervention in the world. At the heart of this commitment, Proparco has committed €258 million to the private sector in Morocco with €118 million outstanding.



The Group's 2022-2026 strategy is in line with Morocco's "New Development Model" with four priority objectives: boosting private investment and entrepreneurial initiative; socio-economic inclusion of young people and women through human development; decarbonization of the economy; and ecological and social resilience of territories.



In the forefront of these orientations, Proparco supports the country's major financial institutions and provides equity investments through operations with a strong economic, social and environmental impact.

Two projects in particular reflect this commitment, in the health and environment sectors. Françoise Lombard will be visiting the field to meet the teams of Amanys Pharma and Arma, which have benefited from Proparco's support.



Amanys Pharma, supporting the local health sector

On September 27, she will visit Amanys Pharma, a Moroccan pharmaceutical group headed by Younous Elalamy, which supplies high quality antibiotics and specialty drugs to Morocco and other African countries.



Amanys is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Morocco. To support the company's development strategy, Proparco has invested since 2020 nearly $12 million to take a stake alongside the private equity fund SPE AIF.

This operation illustrates Proparco's strong commitment to local production and access to quality essential medicines in Morocco and on the African continent.



Aware of both global and local impacts, Proparco has also awarded two grants to Amanys, one in 2020 to protect employees in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the other in 2021 to analyze the energy efficiency of production capacities.



Arma, ensuring proper waste management in Morocco



On September 28, Françoise Lombard will conclude her visit to Morocco with a meeting with Arma Casablanca's teams. The company manages the cleanliness and household waste collection service for four of the city's prefectures, representing nearly 1.4 million inhabitants.



In 2021, Proparco guaranteed financing granted by the Moroccan Bank for Trade and Industry (BMCI) to the company to support the renewal and modernization of the city's collection and urban waste management equipment. This project has also enabled the optimization of collection via digital tools, a first in Morocco.



This support is a sign of Proparco's commitment to supporting the country's ecological resilience and improving people's lives, which Françoise Lombard will also highlight during her meetings with the authorities and banking counterparts