IFC investments in the region are designed to help the two North African governments form private-public partnerships to help finance infrastructure projects, Sérgio Pimenta, the WB vice president for the Middle East and Africa told Bloomberg. While Morocco’s economic prospects are more favorable than Tunisia’s, neither country can afford to invest heavily in infrastructure, Pimenta said. The IFC is also working on providing finance for small and medium enterprises in the two countries to help create jobs. He also called on Tunisia to facilitate doing business to ease the crisis which grapples the country, triggering social protests. Concerning Morocco, Pimenta voiced optimism at the country’s economic prospects saying that the Kingdom’s move toward flexibility makes it more competitive, but it needs additional measures to boost growth.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 22, 2018 11:37 UTC