A partnership agreement to support the self-employment plan was signed between the Minister Delegate responsible for small businesses and the integration of the informal sector, the Consortium of Banking Professionals of Morocco (GPBM), and the Professional Association of Financial Companies (APSF) on Thursday 16 July 2015 in Rabat.

This signing ceremony was presided over by Mr Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy with the participation of Mr Mamoune Bouhdoud, Minister Delegate responsible for small businesses and the integration of the informal sector, Mr Othman Benjelloun, President of the GPBM and CEO the BMCE Bank Group, Mr Mohamed Kettani, CEO of the AttijariWafa Bank Group, Mr Mohamed Benchaâboun, CEO of the Banque Populaire Group, and Mr Abdallah Benhamida, president of APSF.

This agreement provides a common framework for exchanges between the partners in order to accompany the deployment of the self-employed status. Moreover, the agreement aims at encouraging credit institutions and related bodies to develop financial products adapted to the needs of this category of entrepreneurs, as well as easing their access to financial support. It is worth noting that the self-employed status enables self-employed individuals to open an account at the bank of their choice.

“Through the commitment of financial partners, it is the banking inclusion of the self-employed that will be guaranteed from now on. Their mobilisation is a measure of the success of the implementation of this national undertaking, which will experience a gradual, innovative and optimised deployment at the heart of an ecosystem based around the main public and private regional actors.” stressed the Minister Delegate, Mr Mamoune Bouhdoud.

The agreement also aims to promote cooperation between Barid al Maghrib (the Moroccan post office) and the credit institutions and related bodies, mostly through delegating registration transactions of the self-employed to the banks who wish to carry out such formalities for their clients.

“The objective is to promote the regional and local dimensions of the status, which are key to a successful deployment for the target population. The aim being to allow anyone wishing to formalise a business they run, wherever they are located in the country”, explained Mr Bouhdoud.

It should be emphasized that self-employed status is designed to free private initiatives and favour the integration of informal activities and allow them to join an attractive and simple regulated framework.

The simplification of procedures for creating and winding up, exemption from registration with the Register of Commerce, the paperless payment of specific income tax, the exemption from value added tax, and the protection from seizure of the main residence, are the main advantages of this status.

Local counters available for persons seeking to benefit from this status are set up across the network of Barid Al Maghrib agencies.