{"id":31578,"date":"2026-04-12T09:05:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T07:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=31578"},"modified":"2026-04-12T10:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T08:43:43","slug":"world-bank-approves-500-million-to-support-jobs-and-green-growth-in-morocco","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/world-bank-approves-500-million-to-support-jobs-and-green-growth-in-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"World Bank approves $500 million to support jobs, green growth in Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">The funding, provided under the First Morocco Jobs and Green Growth Development Policy Loan, is the first of three planned operations designed to expand employment opportunities, particularly for young people and women, while strengthening small and medium\u2011sized enterprises and accelerating investment in clean energy and high\u2011value industries.<\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The programme supports Morocco\u2019s national Jobs Roadmap by scaling up active labour market policies and improving the alignment between education, training and the needs of the private sector. More than 330 000 job seekers are expected to benefit by 2029. Measures to boost women\u2019s participation in the labour market include expanding licensed childcare services, with plans to add over 40 000 new places and create about 1 200 direct jobs for women in the sector.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Beyond labour market reforms, the operation aims to improve the business environment, particularly for SMEs. Key measures include modernising the insolvency framework to better manage financial distress, strengthening credit guarantee schemes for smaller firms and streamlining investment processes through Regional Investment Centres.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The financing also supports Morocco\u2019s ambition to expand renewable energy and energy efficiency by removing barriers that have limited private investment. In parallel, it seeks to position the pharmaceutical sector as a stronger export industry, with export targets set to grow nearly sevenfold by 2029.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">World Bank officials said the programme takes an integrated approach, recognising the links between job creation, business growth and the green transition. It addresses persistently high youth unemployment, low female labour force participation and sector\u2011specific constraints that have held back private investment and increased vulnerability to external shocks.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">\u201cThese reforms tackle one of the most persistent barriers to job creation in Morocco, which is the slow emergence of high\u2011growth enterprises,\u201d said Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye, World Bank Division Director for the Maghreb and Malta. \u201cBy improving the business environment and supporting high\u2011potential sectors, this operation creates the conditions for sustained investment and employment.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;WorldBank\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31579,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,44],"class_list":["post-31578","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The World Bank\u2019s Board of Directors has approved a $500 million financing package for Morocco to support job creation, private sector growth and the transition to a greener economy.","published_date":"","news_description":"The World Bank\u2019s Board of Directors has approved a $500 million financing package for Morocco to support job creation, private sector growth and the transition to a greener economy.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31592,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31578\/revisions\/31592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=31578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}