AfDB approves $487M loan for Morocco economic reforms
The African Development Bank Group has approved a new $487 million financing package for Morocco to support structural economic reforms and strengthen its resilience to climate and energy shocks.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved, on Wednesday in Abidjan, a new $487 million financing package for Morocco, under the third phase of the "Programme in Support of Strengthening Economic Governance and Climate Change Resilience" (PGRCC), to accompany structural reforms of the national economy and bolster its capacity to absorb economic and climate shocks.
Two reform pillars
The programme rests on two pillars. The first concerns improving public action mechanisms, through restructuring the portfolio of public institutions and enterprises, modernising the public-private partnership framework, and improving the business climate to attract more private investment, including support for SMEs, innovation and integration into global value chains. The second covers climate and energy resilience, through modernising governance of the water and electricity sectors and better integrating climate considerations into public policy, to accelerate the shift toward a low-carbon economy.
What AfDB officials say
Abdoulaye Coulibaly, director of the Governance and Economic Reforms department at the AfDB, said the goal of this phase is to help Morocco absorb external shocks, whether economic, energy-related or climatic, and to consolidate reforms that make the economy more resilient. Achraf Tarsim, the AfDB Group's resident representative in Morocco, said the Kingdom has chosen to pursue its reforms despite external shocks, with the aim of supporting economic transformation, growth and job creation.
Why this financing matters
The support comes amid the fallout from the Middle East crisis, which has driven up energy and transport costs, and falls under the AfDB's Global Framework for the Energy and Fertilizer Crisis Response, aimed at preserving budget room and priority spending while keeping reforms and investment on track. The financing comes as Morocco's current account deficit doubled to 42 billion dirhams in 2025, while the national economy posted 4.1% growth in the third quarter, according to the High Commission for Planning. Since 1978, the AfDB Group has mobilised nearly €15 billion for more than 150 projects in Morocco, spanning transport, energy, water and sanitation, agriculture, and social protection.