GIZ, Menara Cluster Partner to Boost Morocco’s Food, Cosmetics Sectors
In line with Morocco’s vision to open up to neighboring African and European markets, the German agency signed a partnership with the Moroccan association to improve the marketability of food and bio-cosmetic products.
SOURCE: MOROCCO WORLD NEWS
BY: ABDELMALEK EL MORABIT
Rabat – The German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Menara Cluster have concluded a partnership agreement to create an innovation center dedicated to Morocco’s food and cosmetics industry in the City of Innovation of Cadi Ayyad University (UCA).
Antje Uhlig, business desk manager for GIZ’s “Partnership for employment and support to medium-sized enterprises in Morocco” program and Menara Cluster President Youssef Mouhyi signed the agreement Wednesday in Marrakech.
The agreement seeks to offer a technological platform that will allow Menara Cluster member companies to test their products and continue their training. It aims to enable them to create high-quality products and access new European and African markets.
The partnership serves as a pilot project under GIZ’s “Invest for Jobs” initiative. Dedicated to the food and bio-cosmetics sectors, the project seeks to “support the Menara Cluster and establish two laboratories to promote and raise the quality of companies’ products to high standards,” said Uhlig, as quoted by Morocco’s state media.
Mouhyi considers the agreement to be “of strategic importance for the food and cosmetic sectors,” according to the same source. The Menara Cluster president stressed that the partnership “reflects the willingness of Moroccan companies to open up to our African partners in line with the enlightened vision of King Mohammed VI.”
Created in 2012, the Menara Cluster is an association in Morocco which aims particularly at promoting the advancement and growth of the Moroccan agro-food and luxury cosmetics industries. It consists of 77 members and is in partnership with 12 national institutions, including the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and Regional Investment Center.
GIZ has operated in Morocco since 1975 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The agency has set up a total of 55 projects in the country so far with a total investment of approximately €266 million, mostly in the area of business and other services.
Germany has supported numerous projects in Morocco over the past decade to improve the country’s economic and environmental condition. At the advent of the pandemic, Germany’s financial support included €1.387 billion to help Morocco face its domestic COVID-19 crisis, boost its national economy, and advance development initiatives.