IOM and the Belgian Embassy in Rabat have signed an agreement to
launch an innovative project aimed at encouraging Moroccans living
in Belgium to start businesses back home in Morocco.

The EUR 1.2 million, two-year programme seeks to encourage
Moroccan expatriates to invest their savings, knowledge and
expertise into the setting up of private ventures that will further
the development of impoverished regions in the north and east of
the country. 

The Mobilization of Moroccans Residing in Belgium for the
Development of Morocco programme (MEDMA 2) is based on the findings
and recommendations of a 2007 IOM/Government of Belgium study,
which showed that Moroccans in Belgium were keen to invest in their
home region, but often lacked sufficient information to do so. Over
250,000 Moroccans, mostly from Morocco’s northern regions,
currently live Belgium. 

The project will be carried out in partnership with Ministry of
Moroccans Residing Abroad and the Hassan II Foundation for
Moroccans Residing Abroad, and with the support of public and
private partners in Belgium, including the Solvay Brussels School
of Economics and Management. 

It aims to provide potential investors with up-to-date
technical, financial and administrative information. It will also
provide them with insights into how best to access existing
national mechanisms to facilitate their investment. 

“The overall objective of this pilot project is to show
that the Moroccan diaspora can significantly contribute to the
socio-economic development of some of the poorest regions in the
north,” says IOM Morocco’s Dorien Deketele. 

For more information, please contact: 

Dorien Deketele

IOM Morocco

Tel: +212-5-37652881

Email: "mailto:ddeketele@iom.int">ddeketele@iom.int