Casablanca, Morocco, February 10, 2011
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today signed an agreement with the Moroccan Female Entrepreneurs Association (AFEM) to promote alternative dispute resolution among women entrepreneurs as a way to settle commercial disputes more quickly and easily, helping release trapped assets and further growth.
IFC, AFEM, and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises in partnership with the public sector organized a conference entitled, “Commercial Mediation for Tomorrow’s Manager,” to raise awareness about the benefits of commercial mediation and help increase its use in Morocco. The conference, held on February 10 brought together more than 200 participants, mostly women entrepreneurs of small and midsize businesses. IFC and AFEM will continue to work together to raise awareness among women entrepreneurs and provide training to mediators.
Soraya Badraoui Drissi, President of AFEM, said, “We are very enthusiastic about this partnership with IFC, as our planned activities will provide much-needed exposure to women on the advantages of using mediation as a mechanism for resolving commercial disputes.”
Navin Merchant, IFC Program Manager for Alternative Dispute Resolution, said, “Commercial mediation has the potential to greatly reduce the costs of doing business, particularly for smaller businesses. Women-owned businesses will not only benefit from mediation, but they will they will support the adoption of mediation as a viable mechanism for local businesses.”
IFC has been working to promote methods of alternative dispute resolution in Morocco since 2007, in collaboration with the Moroccan government and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises. This work has resulted in 567 resolved cases and about $40 million released assets. Since then, the project has helped train mediators, raise awareness about mediation, and support creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Mediation and Arbitration, a body composed of international experts that help businesses in Morocco settle commercial disputes more quickly and easily. IFC also is working in Egypt and Pakistan to develop methods of alternative dispute resolution such as commercial mediation.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives—by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and provide essential services, mobilizing capital from others, and delivering advisory and risk-management services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
For more information about the Moroccan Female Entrepreneurs Association, visit
http://www.afem.ma/
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For more information about the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, visit
http://www.cgem.ma/
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