Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps is British International Investment taking to support finance development projects promoting women's empowerment in the Kingdom of Morocco.

British International Investment (BII) is a leader in gender-lens investing, a strategy that incorporates gender-based factors into the investment process to advance gender equality and better inform investment decisions.

Over the past four years BII has worked with other development finance institutions to mobilise over $11.4 billion to enhance women's opportunities including women's employment, as well as women-led and owned businesses. Supporting women's economic empowerment is a key part of BII's next five year investment strategy (2022-2026). BII will look to make investments that support this criteria in all the countries it invests in, including Morocco.

In Morocco, BII is actively supporting its largest investment, BMCE Bank of Africa, through a dedicated Gender Action Plan. This includes supporting the bank to strengthen gender diversity in the workforce and training in banking strategies that are targeted at women and their empowerment.