Business
Fez Smart Factory: Over 55 Million Dirhams Mobilized for the Second Phase
The second phase includes the first pilot 4.0 model factory in Morocco and the development of spaces for setting up 93 intelligent demonstration industrial units.
55.5 million dirhams (MDH) have been mobilized for the realization of the second phase of the «Fez Smart Factory», the first innovation ecosystem oriented towards Industry 4.0.
Under a partnership agreement approved during the ordinary session of the regional council in March, held in Moulay Yacoub, an additional contribution of 15 MDH will be mobilized for the realization of the second phase of this ecosystem, which required an investment of 111.3 MDH for its first phase.
According to published data, the remaining 40.5 MDH will be secured by various partners.
The second phase of FSF, currently underway, includes the first pilot 4.0 model factory in Morocco and the development of spaces for setting up 93 intelligent demonstration industrial units.
This model factory will be realized through co-financing from the Investments for Employment facility (IFE) of the German Development Bank KfW, the Ministry of Industry, the Digital Development Agency (ADD), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the EuroMed University of Fez (UEMF).
The first phase of the FSF project benefited from the support of the Sustainable Industrial Zones Fund (FONZID) established under the «Compact II» cooperation program between Morocco and the United States, represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Covering an area of 6.6 hectares, the FSF project includes a 9,000 m² building housing services for innovative businesses, including a 4.0 incubator, a 4.0 startup accelerator, engineering services for Industry 4.0, Research and Innovation services, and a 4.0 Business Center.
It also includes a space dedicated to social services (restaurant, nursery, medical services, staff transportation, one-stop shop, etc.).
This environment is expected to host nearly 40 project leaders, 30 startups, 10 engineering companies, 5 R&D and Research and Technology (R&T) entities, and about a dozen industrialists in the Business Center.
The project was set up by a consortium including UEMF, the project leader, the Fès-Meknès Regional Council, the Fès branch of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), the company «Alten Delivery Center», in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, ADD, and UNIDO.
