Morocco: UNDP, Danish Ministry-organized event on youth gets support from AfDB

An event has been recently organized by the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The African Development Bank took part in the 2019 edition of the ‘Innovation and Youth’ meetings.

The objective of this meeting was to enable young entrepreneurs to contribute to development projects, including the promotion of innovation and sustainable development, job creation and the strengthening of intergenerational dialogue. Over 100 young people participated for the first time in an innovation laboratory. With the aim of creating new solutions and thus put their talents at the service of the country's economic emergence.

The African Development Bank has always supported the young entrepreneurs in Morocco through its Souk At-Tanmia (SAT) program. An initiative funded by the Danish-Arab Partnership Program (DAPP) which aims to be a support mechanism for youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship and employment creation. SAT combines access to financing and technical support to meet the needs of young people, women, associations, cooperatives and micro-entrepreneurs.

It is in this context that the African Development Bank took part in the selection committee of young talent teams and held a stand during the day entitled ‘Dialogue and Youth’. A process that ended with the awarding of trophies to the eight best teams who will now benefit from the financial services and support pre and post-creation Souk At-Tanmia. Added to this is the organization of an information session on this initiative, which brought together more than 100 young entrepreneurs from different regions of the Kingdom.

“We are pleased to support all young people who want to start, create and move forward,” Mohamed El Azizi, Executive Director of the African Development Bank for North Africa opined in the presence of Her Royal Highness, Princess Mary of the Kingdom of Denmark. “"I have seen the diversity of talent and innovation they bring to creating solutions. I congratulate the eight successful companies that will benefit from our program, Souk At-Tanmia,” he added.

The partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the African Development Bank, which has lasted for nearly half a century, has nearly 170 projects and programs totalling a financial commitment of more than USD 10 billion. These funds cover different strategic sectors, including energy, water, transport, agriculture and social development.