Moroccan pharma company gets $37m European funding

Reuters/Alishia Abodunde

• Loan for distributor Dislog Group
• First tranche will buy Steripharma
• Fintecc climate grant also included

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to provide MAD380 million ($37.1 million) in funding to support Morocco’s pharmaceutical private sector.

The loan will be given to Dislog Group, a distributor of consumer goods covering more than 70,000 retailers across the country, which is owned by Moroccan conglomerate H&S Holding.

Founded in 2005, the company has diversified into industrial production of agribusiness, hygiene and pharmaceutical products.

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The funding will be distributed in two tranches. MAD270 million will be used to acquire Steripharma, a local pharmaceuticals manufacturer that provides affordable specialty generic medicines to replace expensive original products in the treatment of life-threatening diseases.

The remainder will finance the construction of a new green-certified industrial building and logistics platform, as well as the installation of photovoltaic panels.

This tranche will be supported by a guarantee from the European Union through its European Fund for Sustainable Development, in line with the EU-Morocco Green Partnership, which was signed in 2022 with the aim of protecting the environment, conserving biodiversity and fighting climate change.

The EU will also provide a guarantee and technical assistance to promote gender equality.

Furthermore, Dislog will receive a grant from the Fintecc Programme, which helps companies in participating EBRD economies to introduce climate technologies.

The programme is part of, and financed through, the EBRD’s Green Economy Transition approach. It is supported by the Global Environment Facility and the EU.

Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and started receiving funding from the bank in 2012. To date the EBRD has invested €4.2 billion ($4.4 billion) in the country through 95 projects.

Earlier this month it was announced that the International Monetary Fund is to lend Morocco $1.3 billion to help the country guard against climate-related risks.

The North African country’s investment in cost-effective clean energy to meet local electricity demand reached $5.6 billion in July this year, according to its energy transition and sustainable development minister Leila Benali.