Moroccan packaging firm to use more environmentally-friendly plastics with EBRD money: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending a EUR 15 mn loan to help Moroccan packaging manufacturer Multisac lower its carbon footprint, the lender said in a statement last week. Multisac produces woven bags made from polypropylene and is the leading company in the Moroccan market, manufacturing 220 mn bags a year.

Where’s the money going? Multisac will use the money to introduce more environmentally-friendly types of plastics into its products, the EBRD said. Biaxially oriented polypropylene films are easier to recycle and reuse, and have a lower carbon footprint than standard polypropylene. The loan will also help raise the company’s production capacity to 250 mn units a year, and fund the construction of a “green manufacturing plant” which will be certified as sustainable based on independent accreditation, the statement added, without giving further details.

The EU is backing the loan: The EUR 15 mn loan will be backed by an EU guarantee through the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) — an EU financial instrument designed to spur public and private investment in sustainable areas, including greentech in industry, green infrastructure, energy efficiency, and logistics. The EU will also offer technical cooperation to support the project, it adds, without providing further details.

Not the first EBRD funding for Multisac: The EBRD previously provided EUR 4.3 mn in local-currency funding to Multisac in 2018 to boost production and increase resource efficiency.

It all fits in with the EBRD’s green financing goals for MENA: Climate-focused investment in MENA is a priority for the EBRD, multiple representatives have toldEnterprise Climate and Enterprise AM. Helping to “greenify” projects, enhance their bankability, and de-risk overall climate-focused investment is part of the value the EBRD brings to climate activity in the region, stakeholders have said.

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