banks taking on the African continent – ​​L’Express

“When was your last stay in Morocco?” While in Paris, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the founder of the financial conglomerate Saham and former Minister of Industry, surveys his interlocutors to testify to the spectacular change in his country. “As someone who lives there, it sometimes makes me dizzy.” The transformation of the port of Tangier. The construction site of the TGV line which will connect, by 2029, the White City to Marrakech in 2 hours 45 minutes. The hoppers, dug in record time, to streamline traffic in Casablanca. In his sights, the 2030 Football World Cup. “This competition, co-organized with Spain and Portugal, creates an incredible dynamic,” rejoices the businessman, who became president in September of a company in CAC40, the Teleperformance customer service giant. Stadiums, roads, hotels… The necessary infrastructure will mobilize Moroccan operators. Credit production is expected to increase by 6 to 7% per year in 2025 and 2026, a rate more than twice that of 2024, according to estimates from the Fitch agency.

Moulay Hafid Elalamy, who has just completed the purchase of the Moroccan activities of Société Générale, intends to take advantage of this boost. The entrepreneur knew how to provoke his luck. While SG Maroc did not appear in the list of African assets put up for sale by the French bank, it convinced its general director, Slawomir Krupa, to sell this entity to him, on the grounds that there was no interest to maintain a handful of establishments on the continent. “This operation, unexpected on the market, is a masterstroke,” greets Fahdi El Younsi, partner of PwC in Casablanca. It comes in the wake of the takeover of Crédit agricole Maroc by another conglomerate in the country, Holmarcom, completed last June.

These two acquisitions demonstrate the solidity and appetite of Moroccan banking players, whose ambitions extend well beyond their borders. The three largest establishments in the kingdom are Attijariwafa bank, whose main shareholder is controlled by the royal family, BCP, and the aptly named Bank of Africa – BMCE Group, chaired by Othman Benjelloun, the second richest person in the country. The trio is already established in around thirty states on the African continent, with strong positions in Senegal and Ivory Coast. “To grow, you have to get out of Morocco, the market is saturated,” says Jamal El Mellali, head of bank ratings in French-speaking Africa at Fitch.

Soft power economic

Started several decades ago, the movement has accelerated over the past fifteen years as Westerners, and particularly the French, disengage, against a backdrop of coups d’état and tougher regulation in Europe. Compliance requirements have made these subsidiaries too expensive on balance sheets. However, Africa is not a regulatory Wild West, assure professionals, who agree to recognize the quality of the Moroccan Central Bank and its efforts to align with international standards. The Central Bank of West African States, for its part, “is rigorous on matters of compliance with banking standards. It is extremely strict in terms of risk management, steering and reporting,” adds Aminata Kane, general manager of Orange Money Group, Africa and Middle East, microcredit specialist in Ivory Coast, and soon in Senegal.

Competition south of the Sahara is intense. Nigerians and South Africans are competing for market share. The Cherifian kingdom is not left out. “There is not a French bank subsidiary for sale that Moroccans have not looked at,” says Maryam Velasque, X-PM associate, who participated in steering the withdrawal of French players. “The business opportunities in Africa are numerous, these operations are a tool for soft power economic for Morocco”, notes Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, founder of the Ivorian investment company Birimian Ventures. The strategy is also taken to the highest level.

The role of Mohammed VI

Attached to the African roots of his country, Mohammed VI has increased the number of official visits to his neighbors since his accession to the throne in 1999. These initiatives initially aroused a certain skepticism in the economic sphere – how to do business in these small, underdeveloped countries? Moulay Hafid Elalamy, who took part in some of these trips, remembers that the king insisted “on creating South-South relations, considering that Morocco could not be a prosperous land in an ocean of precariousness. As minister , I was instructed to receive my African counterparts, to work as an open book with them, which today allows Moroccans who settle in Africa to find themselves on friendly soil. More so than the French, whose image has been damaged in recent years.

To succeed in the transplant, it is essential to play the local card. “We ensured that the leaders of our entities come from the country, or at least from the region,” explains Brahim Benjelloun Touimi, administrator and general manager of Bank of Africa (BOA). The direction is clear: we must be Senegalese in Senegal, Beninese in Benin, Togolese in Togo…” In these countries, the common use of the French language has favored cooperation, especially since many Moroccan companies have activities there, like Maroc Telecom. “The banks support these companies, which contribute to economic growth there. This strengthens the links, considers Jamal El Mellali, at Fitch. They also finance Western companies active in sub-Saharan Africa, such as TotalEnergies, Lafarge or Vinci.” For Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, who sits on the board of BOA, the winning strategy does not consist of increasing the number of establishments, but of consolidating its positions in countries where the economic environment is stable, such as those in the zone where the CFA franc circulates. . Which does not prevent certain groups from coveting other skies. The takeover by Attijariwafa bank of the Barclays subsidiary in Egypt left its mark. Bank of Africa, for its part, is already well present in English-speaking territory. Others “look at Nigeria, Ghana… The approach is more complicated, because of the exchange risk and very strong competition, from local or South African groups. Gulf banks, for currently located in North and East Africa, will also join the ranks”, judges Aroni Chaudhuri, economist at Coface.

Of course, these markets are riskier than that of Morocco. Some, too politically unstable, should even be avoided. But the dynamism of the continent validates Rabat’s pan-African ambitions. A young, growing population, prospects for economic expansion in 2025 of around 4 to 6%, depending on the region. “Africa is becoming financialized, with a middle class that is becoming very interesting in terms of profitability per customer,” adds Maryam Velasque. Brahim Benjelloun Touimi says he is confident. “It is the only continent with potential for the next twenty, thirty or forty years. Thanks to diversified riches, like those available to Morocco: the subsoil, with phosphate, water, thanks to desalination, renewable energies, tourism…”.

The rise in power in Africa of the kingdom’s financial players therefore seems set to continue. In this regard, Fahdi El Younsi points out that “the largest subsidiaries of Société Générale in Africa – Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon – have not yet been sold”. A word to the wise… “The idea is not to plant flags everywhere, tempers Moulay Hafid Elalamy. Buying banks is an option, but it is not the only one.” Partnerships to operate in other African countries, and why not in Europe, in order to serve the Moroccan diaspora, also present certain charms. A South-North relationship to cultivate.