African Development Bank approves $110 million loan for Morocco's first EV battery gigafactory

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a €100 million ($110 million) loan to finance the construction of Africa’s first integrated electric‑vehicle battery gigafactory in Morocco. The project, led by Chinese‑owned Gotion Power Morocco, will be built in the Rabat‑Salé‑Kénitra Free Trade Zone and will initially produce 10 GWh of lithium‑iron‑phosphate battery cells and packs, scaling to 100 GWh. The bank will act as lead arranger under its New African Financial Architecture for Development, planning to mobilise up to an additional €141 million from development partners. The first phase is expected to create more than 600 direct jobs and achieve a 70 % local industrial integration rate, bolstering Morocco’s electric‑vehicle ecosystem and supporting the continent’s clean‑energy transition.