Morocco–World Bank: New 10-year partnership framework envisages $15 billion in financing

The World Bank Group and the government of Morocco announced on Monday, July 13, the adoption of a new partnership framework designed to accelerate the country’s next phase of growth and job creation, while supporting the Kingdom’s development priorities and its vision of a more inclusive, competitive, and resilient economy.

The Morocco Country Partnership Framework (CPF) sets out a targeted program focused on creating more and better-quality jobs in areas where the World Bank Group can have the greatest impact.

To achieve this goal, the World Bank Group’s collaboration with Morocco will focus on three main pillars:

• Enhancing business competitiveness by reducing regulatory barriers, strengthening market competition, and expanding access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Developing better-connected and more inclusive cities and territories by reducing geographical disparities and improving access to markets and services in both urban and rural areas.

• Strengthening human capital through support for education reforms, universal health coverage, and the expansion of the social protection system.

Through these three pillars, the CPF aims to combine “public policy reforms and private sector-led solutions to remove key barriers to job creation, while promoting more inclusive and resilient growth.”

The CPF program’s selectivity is based on three fundamental principles:

• Alignment with the World Bank Group’s mission to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity on a sustainable planet;

• Consistency with Morocco’s development priorities outlined in the New Development Model;

• Focus on areas where the World Bank Group can have the greatest impact.

The World Bank’s support will be concentrated in areas where its added value is greatest, especially when it can help mobilize large-scale private investment, while its intervention will be more selective in other areas.

The World Bank specifies in its statement that "this framework is based on a commitment to deliver visible, measurable, and tangible results for the Moroccan population. Progress will be monitored using concrete indicators: jobs created, private investment mobilized, increased access to healthcare and quality education, and better protection for vulnerable communities against climate shocks."

Regarding financial support, the CPF document provides further details. It specifies that the implementation of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) will rely on an integrated approach across the World Bank Group, with sequenced and mutually reinforcing interventions from IBRD, IFC, and MIGA. The CPF foresees, as an indicative figure, an IBRD envelope of around $15 billion over a ten-year period.

IFC and MIGA will contribute to mobilizing large-scale private investment and will provide guarantees – including political risk insurance and instruments under the World Bank Group’s Guarantee Platform – to reduce project risks and attract private capital through joint interventions in job-intensive sectors.

"This new partnership framework marks a decisive step for Morocco. What sets it apart is its structuring nature: it aligns public and private financing, knowledge, and reforms around a common vision for the future of the Kingdom. Job creation for our youth, for our women, in our cities and rural territories, is at the heart of this shared ambition. With a partner that helps us build the foundations of tomorrow, Morocco is moving forward," said Nadia Fettah, Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance, as quoted in the statement.

"Morocco has made remarkable progress, and the ambition of its New Development Model is inspiring,” emphasized Ousmane Dione, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. “By extending our partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco to a ten-year horizon, we are making a deliberate choice to move beyond project cycles and invest in sustainable structural transformation. This new framework reflects our unwavering commitment alongside Morocco as the country shapes its next path of progress."

"The Moroccan economy is one of the most dynamic in Africa, and its growth trajectory is among the most exemplary on the continent,” said Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Vice President for Africa. “Through this ten-year partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco, we are strengthening our commitment to consolidating markets, mobilizing more private capital, and supporting the next generation of businesses to grow, expand, and create jobs across the economy."

"As part of this enhanced partnership, MIGA will use its guarantees to mobilize private capital and reduce investment risks in Morocco, contributing to job creation and promoting a more resilient growth model driven by the private sector," said Ed Mountfield, MIGA Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.