02.25.07
USAID-Global Snapshots: Morocco and Economic Growth
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/snapshot/ane/morocco/morocco_eg.html
USAID/Morocco is providing assistance to help Morocco’s economy address the challenges of liberalization. Mission activities include providing opportunities for small- and micro-enterprises to grow and promoting greater involvement of women in the workforce.
Women in Technology-Cisco Networking Academy Scholarships for Women
Working with the Institute of International Education (IEE), USAID provides scholarships to Moroccan women to attend the Cisco Networking Academy Program. This activity trains women to design, build, and maintain computer networks, providing approximately 600 women from seven countries the opportunity to gain marketable high-tech skills to work in jobs related to the Internet economy. At the completion of the six-month training program, the women will earn a Cisco Certified Network Associate Certificate.
Association Al Amana
In 1997, USAID/Morocco established Association Al Amana, a microfinance institution servicing Morocco’s urban micro-entrepreneurs, a large portion of whom are women. Al Amana provides services to craft and trade micro-enterprises and small businesses that typically do not have access to larger financial institutions. Its clients belong to 160 professions divided into trade (48 percent), craft industry (39 percent), and services (13 percent), with women representing 60 percent of its active client base. Mission support came to an end in December 2003 when Al Amana achieved self-sustainability, establishing itself as one of the leading microfinance institutions in the region with 125 branches and over 100,000 active borrowers.
