Moroccan billionaire Moulay Hafid Elalamy donates $1.9 million to earthquake relief

Moroccan billionaire Moulay Hafid Elalamy has donated 20 million Moroccan dirhams ($1.9 million) to the national earthquake relief effort, Fund 126.

Elalamy made the donation through his Saham Foundation amid growing contributions from various private and public entities toward earthquake relief in Morocco.

The earthquake that jolted central Morocco on Sept. 8 resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths.
On Thursday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco donated 1 billion Moroccan dirhams (about $100 million) to the relief initiative.

Affected families are set to receive an initial emergency aid of 30,000 Moroccan dirhams ($2,925). Those with partially damaged homes will get 80,000 Moroccan dirhams ($7,801), while those with completely destroyed homes will receive 140,000 Moroccan dirhams ($13,600).

The earthquake, which impacted various Moroccan provinces, predominantly hit rural regions with less robust infrastructure.

Earlier this week, King Mohammed VI visited the King Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech, where numerous injured individuals are being treated. During this visit, he donated blood to aid the relief operations.

Elalamy, 63, is one of Africa’s richest men with fortune estimated at over $1 billion.

After serving as the CEO of the African Insurance Company of Morocco, he founded Saham Group in 1995 and built it into a conglomerate with interests in insurance, health clinics and financial services.

Elalamy stepped down as the company’s CEO in October 2013 when King Mohammed VI appointed him as the kingdom’s industry, trade, investment and digital economy minister.

In 2018, South Africa’s leading insurer, Sanlam, bought Saham Finances, a Saham Group offshoot, for $1 billion.