a crucial role in the economic development of the kingdom

DSince its founding in 1949, the Caisse Centrale de Garantie (CCG), which became Tamwilcom in 2021 to better reflect its broader service offering, has gone through several phases of evolution to become an important financial institution in the Moroccan economic landscape.

Director General Hicham Zanati Serghini, on the occasion of the second edition of the Nuits de la Finance, organized by Finances News Hebdo, reflected on the institution’s substantial impact on the development of very small, small and medium-sized enterprises. TPME) and on access to finance in the context of successive economic reforms.

The beginning and the first transformation

In the early days, the CCG’s main role was to mobilize external financing to support infrastructure needs and major public sector enterprises such as RAM and ONCF, among others. It was a period when the Moroccan financial sector, which was still emerging, was largely dependent on external support. “To mobilize external financing, the Caisse Centrale de Garantie has provided the State guarantee during this period to finance infrastructure needs and the needs of large companies. This period saw the emergence of strategic sectors, entire bridges of the national economy, thanks to guaranteed financing,” recalls the CEO of Tamwilcom.

With the reforms of the 1980s, Morocco’s financial landscape began to modernize. The CCG had to adapt to an environment in which the state reduced its role as banker to leave more room for the market and the private sector. This period saw the transformation of numerous state financial organizations into universal banks, leading the CCG to specialize more in guaranteeing access to finance for SMEs, especially from the 1996 reform onwards. This with the aim of providing leverage to a population of companies that still exist are considered too risky. The major reform of 2007-2008 was a decisive turning point for the CCG, recalls Hicham Zanati Serghini. This reform made it possible to fundamentally rethink its functioning.

The former CCG took the opportunity to introduce a new range of products adapted to the life cycle of companies and no longer limited to investment phases alone. “The goal was to respond more effectively to financing needs throughout the life of a company,” explains Zanati Serghini. This reform also stimulated cooperation with the private banking sector and regional expansion, increasing the impact of the CCG.

Real consequences

While in the back office of the banking sector, Tamwilcom has played a crucial role in increasing the share of SMEs in the banking sector’s outstandings from 22-23% in 2012 to 45% today. This development demonstrates this institution’s ability to integrate guarantee instruments, facilitating increased financing of SMEs. In addition, collateral requirements for loans to SMEs have decreased significantly, from 165-166% of the loan amount in 2013 to 63.4% in 2019, thanks to the effectiveness of the guarantee systems in place. Tamwilcom’s strategy for 2023-2026 remains focused on financial inclusion, with a particular focus on facilitating access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and microenterprises. It also plans to strengthen its support for innovation and the internationalization of Moroccan SMEs.

New strategic projects

Tamwilcom has survived the centuries and adapted to the needs of the economic and financial fabric. Today, this institution, which has become a joint stock company, offers a multitude of products. In addition to green financing lines, Tamwilcom was the main support for the start of startup financing in Morocco with the Innov Invest fund, a second version of which will come into operation in 2024. In the first version, this fund could support 500 startups.

More recently, Tamwilcom secured a management mandate from the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment (FM6I) to deploy the fund’s debt product, CapAcess. This, without forgetting the key role played by the former CCG during the Covid period, where it kept companies afloat by guaranteeing financing for their working capital needs with products such as Damane Oxygène and Damane Relance.

A fast-growing financial branch of the state

Tamwilcom’s intervention in favor of companies and individuals made it possible to mobilize a financing volume of more than 54.1 billion dirhams for 86,790 operations in 2023. Tamwilcom’s total activity thus recorded a growth of 14% compared to 2022, for a commitment amount of 35.1%. billion dirhams, compared to 31 billion dirhams during the previous fiscal year. The CEO expects growth of about 7% this year. Tamwilcom’s activity remains primarily focused on supporting corporate financing, which will account for 94% of the intervention volume in 2023. In addition, the generic guarantee for the benefit of very small, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), historical and central activities, from Tamwilcom, enabled the mobilization of a credit volume of Dh39 billion in 2023, covered by guarantees from the institution amounting to Dh21.7 billion, an increase of 13% compared to 2022.