2 new partners in India, Mitrata and Light

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation continued its investments in Asia in the second half of 2023 with the signing of two new partnerships in India, where it has two new partners.

Mitrata Inclusive Financial Services Private Limited started as an NGO program in 2010. The microfinance institution was founded in 2017 by Dr. Aqueel Ahmed Khan and Mr. Prabhakar Rawat. The MFI focuses on lending to SMEs, driven by the belief that commercial enterprises are the backbone of the country's economy. Mitrata's promise is to provide rural women with accessible, transparent, and appropriate financial and non-financial services to facilitate their economic empowerment.

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has granted Mitrata its first loan, amounting to €1.5 million in local currency over a four-year period. To date, the MFI manages a portfolio of €27 million and has 109,000 clients, including 1,001 women. 231 of these are taking out their first loan.

The Foundation also secured initial funding of an amount equivalent to 2 million euros from the Indian microfinance institution Light.

Light's goal is to develop financial products and deploy technology in innovative ways to deliver a reliable customer experience. Light Microfinance serves rural and peri-urban areas, with a particular focus on vulnerable women. To date, the institution has nearly 426,000 clients, including 1,001,300 women. Of Light's total clientele, 841,300 are in urban areas.

With these new loans, the Foundation now has 16 partners in South Asia, including 5 in India.

For more information on Foundation partners, click here.