The OCP foundation, agent of change
The objective is to become fully involved in promoting sustainable human development, both in Morocco and in the regions of the global South, through skills development and knowledge sharing.
The OCP Foundation is actively tackling the challenges of sustainable development and climate change adaptation, with actions that contribute to 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations for 2030. Acting as an ‘agent of change’ is one of the strategic pillars outlined in its recently published 2023 business report. Within the framework of Morocco's New Development Model (NMD), launched in 2021, the cooperative sector is expanding at a steady pace. As the document points out, ‘cooperatives facilitate the equitable and inclusive redistribution of wealth, the creation of productive jobs and the promotion of social integration’. As such, the Foundation supports 16 women's cooperatives across the kingdom, particularly via the CoopLab cooperative expertise and support laboratory, housed at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and the Cooperation Development Office (ODCO). “Setting up a cooperative” has enabled us to “help each other, have our business assessed and avert the rural exodus”, says Zahra Amghar, whose Nissae El Horrate market-gardening cooperative in the Mohammedia prefecture produces spices and oil, which can be seen on terroirdumaroc.gov.ma, the Ministry of Agriculture's e-marketing site designed to raise the profile of small-scale producers.
In September 2020, the OCP Foundation together with the Ministry of Higher Education, the CNRST and the UM6P also launched the multi-thematic Ecosystem Research and Development Fund. This fund finances 61 projects in 17 universities and research bodies in the Kingdom, of which 34% are in the health, environment and quality of life sector, 26% in agriculture and agri-food, and 26% in energy, particularly renewable energy. The OCP Foundation supports education and is involved in several projects in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports. For example, the Sponsored Schools (Écoles Parrainées) programme is one such initiative, covering 60 schools in five regions of Morocco and targeting 30,000 pupils and their ecosystem (teachers, parents, teaching staff, etc.). In addition, the Foundation launches and supports development initiatives for the benefit of vulnerable communities in 11 countries in Africa and as far afield as Asia. It supports almost 110,000 beneficiaries, 45% of whom are women, through 345 projects and with 325 partners in Morocco and Global South countries. In June 2022, the foundation entered into a partnership with the Senegalese Agency for Reforestation and the Great Green Wall (ASERGMV), to roll out pilot projects such as providing support to cooperatives in adapting to climate change.
FOR A FAIRER WORLD
Based on its ‘deep conviction that social innovation has the power to lift communities to new heights’, the OCP Foundation is working to ‘strengthen autonomy and resilience through inclusive socio-economic progress, skills development and knowledge sharing’, stressing the ‘crucial responsibility’ of leaving a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable world for future generations.
“Real change can only be driven by a clear vision, shared values and co-constructed actions”, says the Foundation. Through these actions, “we create inspiring career paths that open up new prospects for tomorrow's talent”.