BSH Hausgeräte GmbH (BOSCH), the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Morocco’s Ministry of Industry to create an industrial cluster for material supply to its plants in Europe.
The agreement aims to generate investments worth €25 million from 15 Moroccan suppliers who will deliver metal, plastic and electronic parts to the company. Two Moroccan companies have already signed an agreement to join the cluster – Virmousil, which builds electrical parts, and Sigit, which supplies plastic parts to the automobile industry.
The Ministry in a statement said the new partnership with BOSCH and suppliers in Morocco will help create 2000 jobs and help the country achieve an export value of 1.6 billion dirhams in 2023.
According to the Minister, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the launch of an ecosystem of suppliers is a “prelude to setting up home-appliance factories.” He hints at future developments in local home-appliance production saying, “This sector is one of Morocco’s target sectors, so we won’t be stopping here.”
The North African country has the capacity to supply the parts needed by BOSCH as its key natural resources include phosphates, zinc, manganese, and iron ore.
The agreement with the home appliance maker comes after a similar partnership with Renault Group. The French carmaker is developing a supply platform and a global industrial export base in Morocco by sourcing parts manufactured in the country for its Moroccan and international factories.
A Spanish part manufacturing company, Gravalos Constructionnes has also revealed it will invest 40 million dirhams at a production plant in Morocco. These developments have had a great impact in terms of job creation, increased integration and local sourcing in Morocco.
Moreover, the Moroccan Government has launched multiple initiatives with ambitious goals to promote employment. According to Reuters, Morocco’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.8 percent in 2018 from 10.2 percent in 2017 and it created 112,000 jobs last year.
By attracting foreign investments while developing human capital, Morocco is on a path to eradicate unemployment and boost overall economic growth.
By Tobiloba Ishola.
