Project description

Title: Migration and regional economic development in the Oriental Region of Morocco
Commissioned by: European Union (AENEAS Programme) in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Morocco
Lead executing agency: “Agence de Développement Economique et Social des Provinces et Préfectures de la Région Oriental du Royaume du Maroc” (Oriental Development Agency)
Overall term: June 2008 to May 2011

Context

In terms of economic development, the Oriental Region on the north-eastern border to Algeria has a great deal of catching up to do.

Since 2003, the Moroccan Government has been channelling considerable sums into the region in order to boost competitiveness. A number of cities and provinces are receiving massive support as development centres for agro-industry, tourism, transport and logistics, and technology. The intention is to develop the Oriental Region into an economically strong gateway to the Maghreb countries and to Europe.

Since the private sector plays a key role here, the members of the Moroccan diaspora in Europe are receiving increasing attention as actors for economic development in their home country. They have amassed very large volumes of untapped savings and are showing an increasing interest in investing in Morocco. Owing to various obstacles, this savings potential is not being exploited.

Objective

The potential of the Moroccan diaspora in Europe to create a favourable environment for economic development in the Oriental Region has been mobilised.

The Moroccan institutions geared to economic development (Oriental Development Agency, investment promotion centres, private sector associations, local banks) are targeting their services to the needs of expatriate Moroccans.

Approach

The project makes contributions in the following working areas:

• A diagnosis of the business environment is being carried out with the participation of the private sector and the lead executing agency; this will lead to the drafting of an action plan accepted by all parties within one year.
• On the basis of this action plan, the supporting institutions, such as the Regional Investment Centre, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Nador and Ouida and business associations and local banks, will gradually gear their service packages to the special requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises and of the diaspora. The aim is be to create effective communication structures and mechanisms that contribute to improving the investment environment.
• The diagnosis of the Oriental Region as a business location and the analysis of sectors with high potential will be used to create an investment guide that will be made available to potential investors via the Internet.At least two of the banks based in the Oriental Region will be closely involved in the project work; their detailed knowledge of the needs of the small and medium-sized enterprises in the region and of the Moroccan diaspora will enable special credit products to be created.
• The hands-on experience gained by the project is to be made available on a regular basis to the ministries concerned, other donor organisations operating in this field and to the diaspora, in order to examine whether this knowledge can be applied in other regions in Morocco and in other migration countries (“best practices”).

The activities mentioned contribute generally to intensifying and improving dialogue between government agencies and the private sector. Intensive in-process observation and results-monitoring will ensure that project activities are constantly adapted to changing conditions.

Further information

• Local website of the project
  www.mideo.ma
• Agence pour la Promotion et le Développement Economique et Social de la Préfecture et des Provinces de la Région Orientale du Royaume du Maroc
  www.oriental.ma
• Centre Régional d’Investissement d’Oujda
  www.orientalinvest.ma