The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is backing the development of the packaging industry in Morocco with a €15 million loan in local currency to Multisac SA.

The funds will support the introduction of biaxially oriented polypropylene films to the company’s product range. These are reusable and recyclable flexible packaging films that have a low carbon footprint.

The Bank’s investment will also finance the construction of a new green manufacturing plant, complete with Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certification, and the expansion of Multisac’s bag production capacity from 220 million to 250 million units annually.

The EBRD’s loan is back by a European Union (EU) guarantee through the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD), which focuses on sustainable investments in green infrastructure, logistics chains, energy efficiency and green technology transfers in industrial processes. In addition, the EU will support the project with technical cooperation.

Multisac SA was founded in 2006 and is the leading producer of woven polypropylene bags in Morocco, with around a 35 percent market share. The company also has a strong presence in Africa, exporting more than 35 million bags annually to Mauritania, Guinea, Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, and producing 25 million bags a year in Tunisia through its subsidiary, Société Industrielle de Sacherie.

In 2018, the EBRD provided €4.3 million in local currency to Multisac SA to increase its production capacity, integrate a new production process (bottom squared bags) and increase resource efficiency by producing finished goods from recycled scrap materials. Multisac SA was the first local recipient of support from the EBRD and EU’s Value Chain and Competitiveness Programme in 2018, which aims to improve value chains and make businesses more competitive across Morocco and the wider southern and eastern Mediterranean region.