Rabat, 16 June 2023 – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union representations in Morocco and the ECA Office for North Africa will hold on Friday 16 June in Rabat (Morocco) the first of a series of five training workshops for women-led businesses in various parts of Morocco.
These workshops are being organised as part of the EBRD-led “Women in Business" program financed by the EU and benefit from the support of multiple partners including the Moroccan Association of Women Entrepreneurs (AFEM) and the Association of Moroccan Exporters (ASMEX). They are also being organised as part of a series of actions undertaken by the ECA Office in North Africa aimed at the development of programs and policies in support to female entrepreneurship in North Africa and the implementation of an environment conducive to job creation for women and young people in North Africa.
The five workshops will focus on enhancing export capacity and building up the digital skills of about 200 women owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Besides supporting women in the Morocco labour market and their livelihoods, the project’s main objective is to strengthen Morocco's trade with the African continent and support the country's structural transformation.
Five workshops will be taking place as part of this project in Rabat (16-20 June), Marrakech (22-26 June), Agadir (4-7 July), Tangier (10-13 July) and Casablanca (17-20 July).
Each workshop will address four key themes, namely access to finance, product development, market development strategies and the digitalization of SME export activities. Participants will learn about financing options available to SMEs, how to identify export opportunities, where are the potential markets in Africa, what are the qualification of exportable products as well as the latest digital platforms and tools that may boost exports.
Women's participation in the North African labour market is the lowest among African sub-regions and one of the lowest globally. In Morocco, where it is just over 21 percent among the working age female population, the formal employment rate of women has dropped significantly over the years, from 30 percent in 1999 to 18.6 percent in 2019 according to data from the Moroccan High Commission for Planning. ECA’s research on North Africa has shown that women-led SMEs generate more employment for both women and men than SMEs led by men. Supporting women-led firms is thus key for inclusive growth. Export-oriented SMEs are typically more productive and warrant special attention.
The workshops will thus support the contribution of SMEs to inclusive growth; strengthen the productive employment of women through programs dedicated to entrepreneurship and strengthen the export capacities of businesses owned and managed by women. They will also contribute to improving the digital skills of women owners and their firms.
For more information, please send an email to: iraqii@ebrd.com; delegation-morocco-press@eeas.europa.eu, ou filali-ansary@un.org
Note to editors:
About the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested €4.1 billion in Morocco through 93 projects.
The Women in Business (WiB) program, funded by the European Union, aims to improve women's access to the financing and know-how they need to realize their development potential, with a specific focus on digitalizing their businesses.
For more information, visit and follow us on www.ebrd.com and EBRD:LinkedIn
About The European Union
The European Union is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries. It plays an important role in international affairs through diplomacy, trade, development and cooperation with international organisations. The main objective of the Delegation is to work for the implementation of the partnership between the European Union and Morocco to: financially support the process of political, economic and social reform in Morocco thanks to an ambitious cooperation program and to boost and modernise trade relations within the framework of signed trade agreements.
For more information, visit and follow us on https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/morocco_fr and Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et Instagram
About the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
As one of the five regional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) supports Africa’s economic and social development, fosters regional integration and promotes international cooperation in support of regional development through research and technical support to governments.
For more information, visit and follow us on www.uneca.org, LinkedIn and Youtube!