Casablanca: The Société Nationale d’Investissement an investor committed to development

Stemming from the Omnium Nord-Africain created in 1919, the Société Nationale d’Investissement (the National Investment Company, or SNI in its French acronym) is a holding company, which lists the royal Moroccan family part its primary shareholders and holds long-term investments in Morocco’s biggest companies and key projects.

SNI plays a decisive role in the introduction and invigoration of various productive sectors in Morocco, particularly in large-scale distribution, agriculture and food, telecommunications and renewable energies.

Since March 2010, SNI has specialised in professional investments, thus serving as an significant promoter of new projects that sustain the development of the holding’s shares in the long term.

From the parent company, the holding provides its clients with lasting and responsible management of their shares and allows for the homogenisation of environmental, social and administrative norms at world-class standards.

At the service of the Moroccan economy

Accompanying, developing and structuring the Moroccan economy over the long term is SNI’s principle mission. The holding has at its disposal €4 billion of its own funds to serve professional investors. SNI invests in companies that show huge potential and in innovative projects that add price to the national economy.

With this goal in mind, SNI puts its financial resources and competencies to the service of Attijariwafa Bank, thereby positioning it as a top Moroccan bank. In following a socioeconomic development strategy in Morocco and Africa, Attijariwafa Bank widens access for the working classes to financial services and boosts banking penetration rates in rural areas throughout a good part of the African continent.

SNI as well plays an significant role as an incubator of new, high price-added projects for the Moroccan economy. It has been a pioneer, through its companies Marjane and Acima, in the large-scale distribution sector inclunding having driven the development of the Moroccan middle class by modernising their consumer habits. Likewise, SNI companies Bayn and Inwi have raised the level of democratisation of mobile communications industry in the kingdom with their launch of competitive offers that have due increased use of mobile technology throughout the country. SNI is as well pursuing an ambitious plan to equip Morocco with clean energies; it is the biggest investor in wind farms through its subsidiary Nareva.

A mentor for next economic players with a regional footprint

SNI’s mission is to put its companies and the projects in which it invests in a permanent national of development, thus allowing them to widen their area of influence. With this in mind, SNI offers intense support for the development of mining company Managem’s activities in Gabon, Sudan, Congo and the DRC. This is in a similar vein to the holding’s support for Attijariwafa Bank’s successful financial penetration projects in some dozen African nations.

SNI selects its partners from amongst a select group of companies. In mid-2012, the international yoghurt giant Danone raised its stake in Centrale Laitière, the Moroccan dairy product leader, by acquiring part of SNI’s shares and raising its participation from 29.2 % to 67 %. This was a huge move that opened up a significantly larger section of the Western African market; indeed, presently about half of Danone’s business comes from emerging nations.

In 2013, SNI as well sold off some of its shares of sugar company Consumar to Asian food and agriculture leader Wilmar International. The latter has announced its intention to take chance of the controlling stake in Consumar to widen its sugar export business in Western African and Southern Europe. As a result, Consumar will serve as a bridge for Wilmar International’s sugar line in the western hemisphere.

Numerous fruitful relations with world leaders

SNI has formed several relationships with international companies interested in developing their business in Morocco: Lafarge, Arcelor Mittal, GDF Suez, Wilmar and Danone, to name just a few.

Santander Bank is a partner of SNI in Attijariwafa Bank, in which its holds a 5 % share. This partnership has allowed Spain and Morocco to forge closer relations with each other, bringing together each bank’s respective clients.