The Facility Investing for Employment has selected its first grantee from Morocco and signed three contracts in Tunisia

From June to August 2024, the Facility Investing for Employment (IFE) signed four new grant agreements in Morocco and Tunisia. Together, the four projects are expected to create 2,000 good jobs with access to social protection systems. The recipients come from the private and the public sector.

Between June and August 2024, the Facility Investing for Employment (IFE) added four more projects from Morocco and Tunisia to its portfolio. As a result of the grant agreement signed in Morocco, IFE now has ongoing projects in all eight partner countries of the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”. Together, the new projects are expected to generate a total of 2,000 good jobs, improve the working conditions of 3,800 existing employees, and provide training opportunities for more than 1,600 people. All new jobs will give employees access to the mandatory social protection systems in Morocco and Tunisia. The grants were awarded to a company in the automotive industry, a logistics service provider, a company managing an industrial zone and a university. The combined amount of the four grants is around 13 million euro.

The Facility IFE is an investment mechanism created by KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as an integral part of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition".

Morocco

The Université EuroMed de Fès (UEMF) is the first IFE grantee from Morocco. The grant will serve to co-finance a major part of the university’s Fez Smart Factory project. The factory school will have workshops and classrooms and will provide students and professionals with a modern learning environment that uses state-of-the-art industry 4.0 technologies. Within the first three years after completion of the construction phase, more than 1,600 participants are expected to complete trainings at the Fez Smart Factory. 580 of them will have the opportunity to participate in courses lasting more than 12 months.

UEMF President Mr Mostapha Bousmina underlined the strategic importance of the cooperation during the signing ceremony in Fès: “This project will train engineers and other specialists in the industry 4.0 technologies that have become essential for us to remain competitive on and international level.” Mr Hicham Chahir, the IFE Country Manager in Morocco congratulated the successful applicant and explained that the project was selected due to its innovative character and its potential to create more than 500 good jobs in high-tech industries.

Tunisia

The Facility IFE signed grant agreements with the companies Autoliv Tunisia, GMG Zioc and Ulysse Logistics.

The company Autoliv Tunisia is part of the international Autoliv Group. It manufactures car steering wheels in Tunisia for international clients from the automotive industry. Most exports go to car manufacturers in Germany, France, Romania and Italy. Until now, the grantee has been importing the metal armatures for the steering wheels and has processed them into finished steering wheels at its factory in El Fahs. Autoliv Tunisia will use the IFE grant to invest in machines that will allow the company to cast its own armatures. This will lower costs and help expand production, while also introducing a unified system of quality control. Within three years after the investment phase, the company will create close to 700 new jobs, around 550 of them for women.

GMG ZIOC, the management association of the Oued Chaabouni Industrial Zone near the coastal town of Sfax, also successfully applied for an IFE grant and will use it to improve investment conditions for companies. It will build new access roads, install street lighting, and improve the water supply in the industrial zone. This infrastructure will make the area more attractive for investors who, together with companies already present in the industrial zone, are expected to create 400 new jobs with access to social protection systems. Working conditions of the 3.000 workers employed in Oued Chaabouni will also improve due to the modernisation process. GMG ZIOC will work closely with the state utility companies and the provincial administration of Sfax. The Province of Sfax will take over a part of the construction costs.

The demand for logistics services is increasing in Tunisia. One of the reasons is the growth of E-Commerce. Ulysse Logistics offers its customers the full range of goods management services. This includes warehousing, transport, quality control and labelling. The company will use an IFE grant to expand its warehouse in Mornag by 33,000 square meters and will buy additional forklifts and trucks. By using economies of scale, the company wants to become more competitive, extend its services and acquire new clients. This is expected to create around 390 new jobs with access to social protection systems, within three years following the termination of the construction. The working conditions for 500 existing employees will also improve and benefit from a new employee transport service that Ulysse Logistics will introduce.

The selection of the three projects underlines the importance of the country within the IFE portfolio. The Tunisian companies Polybat SA, Soprotic, PAEZ, MFI and the Fondation Tunisie pour le Développement successfully applied for IFE grants in the past, and the selection of another three projects adds to the importance of the country within the IFE portfolio.

The Facility IFE now has 15 ongoing projects in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, including the recently signed grant agreements. Job creation in the MENA Region will continue to be a focus of IFE.