The World Bank Group, Morocco’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and AFD Group met in Casablanca to push for more joint funding of development projects.
The meeting, called The Power of Co-Financing, focused on how governments and lenders can put their money together and share risks to fund big projects.
In the past ten years, Morocco has worked with the World Bank on five large projects that raised more than $2bn through joint funding. These projects mainly supported cities, farming and transport. Officials said future funding will focus more on health, energy and digital services.
Projects such as Mission 300 and AgriConnect were given as examples of how shared funding can help countries move faster in cutting poverty.
A key topic was a global platform launched in 2024 to make joint funding easier and avoid delays caused by different rules between donors.
Casablanca was chosen to host the meeting because it has already used this model. The city has seen joint funded projects such as the Greater Casablanca Mobility Hub to improve transport, and the expansion of passenger trains and cleaner freight services in the wider region.
More than $300m in World Bank money has also gone to local programmes to improve the business climate and help the city cope with climate-related risks.
Officials said using both public and private money together will be important to meet development needs by 2030.
The meeting comes as the Casablanca Stock Exchange recently reached a market value of $100bn, strengthening the city’s role as a financial centre in Africa.
