As “sustainability” became a key approach for businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and preserve natural resources, the OCP Foundation continues its commitment to create a truly sustainable future through adopting the “sustainable innovation” approach into its work, which aligns with the country’s 2035 New Development Model (NDM).

The OCP Foundation’s 2021 report emphasizes the organization’s aim of ensuring sustainable living standards for communities in rural areas in Morocco and across Africa. The foundation and OCP Group have centered their strategies on the climate crisis, the preservation of biodiversity, digital transformation, and research and development.

The OCP Foundation’s various areas of intervention are focused on 13 sustainable development goals (SDGs) out of 17 listed by the UN. The foundation focuses on inclusive education, social and economic equality, zero hunger and poverty, and the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems.

Since the beginning of last year, the foundation has ensured the launch of major innovative projects with partners who share the “same values.”

More than 77,000 individuals have benefited from over 160 programs and initiatives the foundation launched in a span of a year.

Inclusive education for a brighter future

Education is a powerful tool to combat poverty and social exclusion. Aware of the importance of the active participation of people within society, especially women and children, the OCP Foundation seeks to further ensure equal and quality access to education in Africa through a focus on SDG4 and by increasing the number of scholarships and educational training.

In its 2021 report, the OCP Foundation highlighted that more than 3.600 scholarships were funded through the Ibn Rochd Foundation for Science and Innovation (FIRSI), and 29 new schools were sponsored, making the total number of sponsored schools reach 60, serving 30,000 students.

Over 9.400 students benefited from last year’s equipment project that featured 27 public preparatory classes (CPGE).

In September 2021, the Foundation  launched the “PrepaDigital” platform by teaming up with the digital learning lab of Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and the National Center for Pedagogical Innovations and Experimentation (CNIP).

The educational platform has 1,500 course capsules aimed at helping 9,760 CPGE students prepare for the entrance exams at engineering schools.

The foundation has also collaborated with the UM6P’s Institute of Sciences of Education (ISE). Their program aims to implement a support approach based on “Learning by Doing” as well as select and finance projects led by the 27 CPGE institutions and monitor their performance.

“At the OCP Foundation, we promote different learning approaches, and we encourage active learning, always with the individual being at the center of the process,” it said in the report.

The institution has also deployed the digital remote support system in 8 sponsored schools in the northwestern city of Khouribga, for the benefit of 6th grade students at the Bouali school.

Building a resilient, sustainable economy

For 2021, the OCP Foundation focused on boosting the social economy and on sustainable and integrated agriculture, while supporting over 600 cooperatives through the “CoopLab.”

The “CoopLab” is an expertise laboratory created by the OCP Foundation and UM6P in 2020. It aims to become a mechanism for the development of an inclusive and equitable economy, a catalyst for change and a tool to reinforce the cooperative ecosystem in Morocco.

The report noted that in 2021 alone, 30 projects were received under the call for projects of the Sustainable Development Fund and three new training centers were created, which have trained more than 400 women.

Reiterating the importance of women in social and economic development, the foundation has held several workshops and training related to cooperatives management to reinforce women’s skills in this area.

In addition to supporting the development of the national economy, the report shed light on the creation of “Moroccan Retail Tech Builder (MRTB).” The initiative is the first incubation platform for  digital startups in the retail sector in the country, and was realized with several partners including Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce and UM6P.

The MRTB aims to support project leaders in the development of innovative digital solutions for the benefit of the retail sector, particularly local commerce, which needs to implement digital tools to meet the growing demand of customers.

Setting up laboratories, as well as the deployment of joint programs with UM6P and several renowned institutions, testifies to the OCP Foundation’s commitment to boost the national research ecosystem in Morocco and the rest of the continent.

With an objective to enable researchers to develop their research programs, it launched in January 2021 a “Research and Development Fund” to encourage research based on advanced technology, while further connecting academic learning to the business and professional world.

Around 61 projects were selected with a budget of MAD 186 million ($18.9 million).

Ensuring food security amid COVID-19

Food insecurity and malnutrition have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Responding to ongoing conflicts, growing inequalities, and climate change, the foundation focuses on further boosting its research and development and technologies which will likely improve the durability of agricultural and food systems.

Ambitious projects have therefore been deployed in the fields of sustainable and integrated agriculture, where technology played a key role in ensuring crop production and giving farmers steady income.

In 2021, OCP Foundation’s agricultural action transcended borders. It worked in collaboration with Bangladesh-based institutions to raise awareness on sustainable soil management, an initiative from which 8,200 Bengali have benefited from, including 2,376 women.

Having established itself in 2020 as a major social player in the fight against COVID-19, the foundation continued its awareness-raising efforts in 2021 to the benefit of 7,508 beneficiaries around the world.

In Rajasthan, India, the OCP Foundation distributed 9,000 COVID-19 protection kits in partnership with several local cooperatives, while in sub-Saharan Africa, sanitation training programs targeted 120 people.