New loan product for Moroccan youths soon
A dedicated youth loan product is set to be launched this month in Morocco.
Bodour, the largest product deployment of this type in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, will be run by specially-trained loan officers, who will also educate the youth on financial basics.
The loan product is backed by a special Youth Loan Fund, for which up to 85mn Moroccan dirhams ($10mn) of loan capital is being provided by FBPMC.
Silatech is providing financial and technical assistance to product design, staff training and marketing.
Both partners are also creating a network of support institutions, who will offer enterprise training and incubation, business development services, and market access solutions so that young entrepreneurs can get prepared, start their businesses, obtain funding and grow them.
Announcing the partnership, Silatech chief executive officer Dr Tarik Yousef said: “We’re delighted to see that FBPMC, one of the leading microfinance institutions in the Mena region, regards young people as a large and untapped opportunity, rather than as a risk.”
He mentioned that Silatech’s experience in designing youth financial services will help the project as it is launched in an important market like Morocco.
“We see this initiative as extremely important for young Moroccans. Access to capital reinforces the entrepreneurial capacity of young people and enables them to contribute actively to building a strong economy,” FBPMC executive director Mustapha Bidouj said, adding: “This project draws on the expertise of both partners, with FBPMC bringing its industry leading expertise in the provision of microcredit and Silatech bringing its regional knowledge in the field of youth financial services.”
He added that through the partnership, the bank will be able to extend its products and financial services to young people through an innovative approach that has proved successful in other countries.
This partnership in Morocco builds upon Silatech’s youth-focused micro enterprise programming in five countries.
With 12 financial institution partners, its youth micro enterprise programmes have impacted over 40,000 young people to date, and have helped more than 15,000 youth-run businesses start or grow, making Silatech the largest youth micro enterprise support services provider in the Arab world.
