In French-speaking Africa

Tracing back the migratory routes in the opposite direction, Work IS Progress landed in Moroccoin the region with the capital Settat, where our administrative office is still located.

In the first years, we worked on women’s craft cooperatives and carried out activities in the areas of Casablanca, Marrakesh and Rabat.

This was the year when we officially launched our work program in the country, with the opening of our office in the capital Rabat and the kick-off of the “EduCare” project, funded by the Cariplo Foundation and the La Caixa Foundation, in partnership with the Catalan NGO Casal dels Infants, with which we offered our support to the creation of 2 social enterprises, both active in the educational field.

Thanks to the renewed confidence of the bank foundations, we were able to launch a new phase of the project, which allowed us to support the setting up of 15 Start-Ups, mostly nursery schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca.

” ES.Maroc.org – Entreprise Sociale ” is a real “country program” dedicated to socio-occupational inclusion, born within the framework of Soleterre’s international program, but with a specific focus on the French-African region It received financial support from the Cariplo Foundation and the Peppino Vismara Foundation.

At the same time, the European Union financed a project aimed at non-Moroccan migrants legally resident in Morocco, which has grown to more than 250,000 over the years.

We also opened an office in Tangier and launched the e-Learning School for associations.
A milestone in the development of the program in the country is the creation of the local association ES.Maroc.org whose Board includes, on a voluntary basis, some Soleterre staff members.

The first edition of the Exhibitionwas held at the end of December and lasted 3 months, with the first days dedicated to events and seminars, and the following 12 weeks to job interviews and networking between Start-Ups and companies. More than 20 Moroccan and international companies and 40 Start-Ups participated as recruiters. More than 2000 young people participated. The exhibition was mainly held online.

There are currently two hubs operating in Morocco, one in Rabat, the main one, and one in Tangier at the Ministry of Youth and Sport. These co-working spaces are aimed at encouraging the activation of synergies and collaborations between different actors in the area.

Both are directly managed by the association Es.Maroc.org and Soleterre is the main partner. The local association has built up its own specific positioning and has become an independent beneficiary of various funds, including institutional ones (EU, IOM, Tavola Valdese).

In 2020, the Work Is Progress program expanded to the Ivory Coast, thanks to a donation from the San Zeno Foundation and the Ministry of the Interior.

In 2021, two new branches were opened, a main one in the country’s most important commercial centre, Abidjan, and an office in Bouaké.

In 2022, in addition to the partnership with the San Zeno Foundation, we activated a partnership with the Viminale, donor of the Dignité project in partnership with the NGO AVSI. This year we activated a partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to provide support to Ivorian migrants who have returned home and wish to start their own business.

After an initial identification of Ivorian returnees in Ivory Coast, the IOM recommends Soleterre suitable profiles to receive our technical advice and then finances the most deserving start-ups.

Since the end of 2022, a job placement desk has been active at the Abidjan office.