Morocco: The House of Representatives adopts the crowdfunding bill

The House of Representatives adopted, unanimously, on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, bill n° 15-18 relating to collaborative financing.
Feb.12.2021 15:03 GMT
crowdfunding
BY HAJAR MAIDER 4 MINUTES READ

The House of Representatives adopted, unanimously, on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, bill n° 15-18 relating to collaborative financing.

Collaborative financing, known as "Crowdfunding", is a method of financing projects by the public.

It collects funds, usually small amounts, from a large audience, mainly to finance entrepreneurship and innovation. This new method of financing operates through internet platforms allowing direct and transparent contact between project initiators and contributors.

This legal framework aims at mobilizing new sources of financing for the benefit of very small, small and medium-sized enterprises and young people with innovative projects. As well as allowing the participation of potential funders in the development of Moroccan projects via a simple, secure and transparent financing mechanism.

The mechanism of Crowdfunding

Under the Law, Crowdfunding is a fundraising operation via an electronic platform (PFC: plateforme de financement collaboratif) managed by a collaborative funding company (SFC: société de financement collaboratif).
Article 15 of the Law imposes on SFC to have a minimum share capital of MAD300,000 fully paid up at the time of its incorporation and to be established in the form of a commercial company.


The types of Crowdfunding

Three types of financing operations arise from this law:

1. The “investment” category is an operation carried out in the form of a direct or indirect equity investment in a capital company (Crowd equity);
2. The “loan” category, this type is provided in the form of a loan, remunerated or free of charge, The conditions and modalities of carrying out operations falling under this category are set by circular of Bank Al-Maghrib ( Crowdlending);
3. The “Donation” category, this type is carried out in the form of a cash donation, with or without compensation, for the benefit of a project initiator, however, the donor must obtain authorization if the amount exceeds 500,000 dirhams (Crowdfunding).

It’s worth noting that crowdfunding platforms dedicated to Moroccan projects began to emerge in 2014 such as Smala & Co, Cotizi, Afineety, Wuluj, and Zoomaal. These platforms have quickly adapted to the economic changes by offering crowdfunding operations earlier on. In fact, a report published by World Bank estimated the crowdfunding market in Africa at 2,2 billion dollars and the MENA region at 5.5 billion dollars[1].

Law n° 15-18 on collaborative financing- PDF


Notes :
[1] http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/409841468327411701/pdf/840000WP0Box380crowdfunding0study00.pdf.
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