Financing: The banking system at the dawn of a revolution?

The revision of the banking system, so that it is adapted to the needs of all socio-economic classes and different economic actors, including project promoters and young entrepreneurs, was one of the most striking points of the royal speech. on the occasion of the opening of the autumn session of Parliament.

King Mohammed VI highlighted the importance of believing and investing in the potential of Moroccan project leaders. This category is often "marginalized" as it has difficulty accessing funding sources. This is understandable somewhere, because the system requires the presentation of guarantees, in order to have a chance to access funding that can contribute to the realization of their ideas on the ground.

In this sense, the king spoke of the important role played by the national banks abroad, especially on the whole African continent, while putting forward an important detail. Indeed, the activity of Moroccan banks is flourishing on the continent, but shows a certain decline at the national level. This is reflected in particular by the view that in some socio-economic banking system, which they think it seeks only profit.

The time is up for change …

In order to revive the economic development machine of the kingdom, the king called on the government and Bank Al-Maghrib, to work closely with the group of professional banks of Morocco, to set up a program dedicated to support young graduates , as well as financing of VSEs / SMEs and autoentrepreneurs.

The objective is to enable these categories to contribute to the development of the economic fabric, reduce unemployment, and help Moroccan innovation to shine on the national, regional and international levels. It is in this sense that the program in question should help these categories to access credits in order to develop their ideas.

This program also aims to help already established SMEs to take their projects to a higher level, especially those operating in the export sector on the continent.

The King's appeal thus focuses on 3 pillars, namely to facilitate access to funding sources for as many projects as possible, to support small and medium-sized businesses, as well as to democratize access to banking services for the first time. all socio-economic categories of the kingdom. The goal is to create real opportunities for the development of the economic fabric, but also to fight disparities at this level.

However, this project is not limited to the granting of credits, but also concerns the development of the banking sector, particularly through the adoption of new technologies. In this sense, it is undeniable to deny the importance of setting up digital solutions and platforms, which can represent and facilitate the access and the realization of various actions of the sector, that it is for the banks as well as the customers , no matter their size.

… But that will take time

It is very interesting to call the actors of the banking sector to believe in the carriers of projects. Helping young entrepreneurs is a plus for the entire Moroccan economy, but we must see the different facets of the thing.

Indeed, the question does not concern the number of projects available, nor even access to funding. These are just details that are perfectly manageable by pulling the right strings. The real challenge is to support the projects in their realization. It is not enough to believe in an idea and to advance money and wait until it generates profits. There must be real parallel support from the different economic actors, particularly the banking sector and the private sector.

In this sense, Mohamed Chiguer, economist and author of several books on the state of the national economy, explains that we must no longer be limited to facilitate access to sources of financing for entrepreneurs. " We must accompany entrepreneurs to carry out their projects. This includes putting in contact with potential investors, professionals who will provide them with advice. This is the role the government should play the private sector and the banks ", Noted our interlocutor.

This situation is well lived on a daily basis, judging by the number of hackatons that the kingdom knows. These events are often publicized to indicate that one or another entity believes in national youth, but these projects are often overlooked. Moreover, not just any idea is interesting, since it would be necessary to find projects adapted to a given need of the market.

" These are not the ideas that are currently lacking. Investing in a dairy is a profitable project, but the added value is not necessarily there. It would be necessary to establish a list of projects that can really contribute to the economic development of the country, and to select some that could create a real revolution ", Advance Mohamed Chiguer.

For him, the success rate of self-entrepreneurship projects is often limited, because precisely, there is a lack of support.

Why do not we finance enough?

In addition, the question of profitability is to be taken with tweezers, since a project can generate profits only after a certain period. This is usually seen after 2 to 3 years, unless it is an idea out of the ordinary.

However, an investor, whether private or banking, can not "bet" his money without expecting to see it bear fruit. " We can not just say that we need to invest in tomorrow's ideas and provide them with money. When we invest money, we expect a return, otherwise we would be throwing money out the window. You can not fund a project that is not well-crafted. That said, it's important to understand that generating profits does not happen overnight, but it takes a lot of time unless you're really lucky Says Chiguer on this point.

The accompaniment of project leaders is therefore a good initiative, but this should not be limited to a financial contribution, but should also include follow-up and professional support, through advice and contact with a network of national and foreign experts.

In addition, the setting up of a repository of interesting projects, which can be consulted by foreign and domestic investors, could only be a positive idea of ​​the momentum of this new vision, which should revolutionize the national economy.