The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB) are partnering to support and finance Indian microfinance institutions that support projects for populations excluded from the traditional banking system. Through this partnership, the Crédit Agricole Group is leveraging its expertise for inclusive finance in India and committing €12 million in financing.

Crédit Agricole CIB will grant loans totaling €12 million in local currency equivalent to Indian microfinance institutions under the guarantee and supervision of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. The Foundation will handle the origination, processing, and monitoring of financing applications. The loans granted to the institutions will help promote access to financial services for as many people as possible to encourage the development of income-generating activities. Rural populations and women entrepreneurs will be the primary beneficiaries.

Through this partnership, Crédit Agricole CIB is positioning itself as a committed player in inclusive finance in India. "The complementary expertise played an optimal role here, with the Foundation bringing its deep understanding of microfinance issues and Crédit Agricole CIB's Indian branches their proven knowledge of the complex and evolving local banking regulations," said Emmanuel Bouvier d'Yvoire, Senior Country Officer for India at Crédit Agricole CIB. Present in India since 1981, Crédit Agricole CIB has offices in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune.

"Alongside Crédit Agricole CIB, we support institutions that promote the development of rural economies in India. This cooperation demonstrates the Group's commitment to acting every day in the interest of society," said Eric Campos, Managing Director of the Foundation and Director of CSR at Crédit Agricole SA. For the Foundation, this is a great opportunity to work in India, where microfinance is highly developed but where financial exclusion remains a challenge.

The first financing is the granting of a loan of INR 5 million, guaranteed up to 100 % by the Foundation, to the Indian company Fusion Microfinance. This company offers financial products and services to more than 1,254,007 women, mainly in rural areas (86 %), who make up its entire clientele. The institution has a portfolio of €237 million. It is present in 17 Indian states, with a network of 440 branches and 3,695 employees.

Since 2010, Convergences has published an annual Microfinance Barometer that tracks the main trends in the sector at the international level while giving visibility to microfinance initiatives with a strong social impact and promoting best practices. This year, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is a partner of the Microfinance Barometer, the 10th edition of which will be launched at the Convergences World Forum, which will take place on September 5 and 6 at the Palais Brongniart in Paris.

With the theme "What are the profitability levels for microfinance?", the 9th Microfinance Barometer presents key figures for the sector and explores the issue of profitability in its many facets. Should microfinance be profitable? If so, can it be while remaining socially responsible? Can it remain true to its aspirations of enabling, through financial inclusion, the escape from poverty of nearly 2 billion people without access to banking services? How can social performance and financial profitability be combined to best serve beneficiaries?

From microfinance institutions to investors, the Barometer compares different perspectives and highlights the strong interdependence between social and economic performance. Through case studies, expert analyses, and interviews with investors, this edition provides an overview of microfinance profitability and provides insights into the dual returns—social and financial—of microfinance.

To download it: here

In partnership with CA Indosuez Wealth (Asset Management) and CACEIS Bank, Luxembourg Branch, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation launched in September 2018 the FIR (Inclusive Finance in Rural Areas), a compartment of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Fund, the first microfinance fund of the Crédit Agricole group.

2018, launch of the FIR and first fundraising

For over 10 years, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has been promoting financial inclusion and entrepreneurship by supporting microfinance institutions and social impact businesses. To strengthen its work and multiply its impact, the Foundation, in partnership with CA Indosuez Wealth (Asset Management) and CACEIS Bank, Luxembourg Branch, has launched the Compartment for Inclusive Finance in Rural Areas (FIR), which will enable Group entities to finance microfinance institutions in rural areas in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The first two FIR fundraising rounds closed in 2018 saw the participation of fifteen Regional Funds (Alsace-Vosges, Centre-est, Centre-France, Champagne-Bourgogne, Charente-Périgord, Franche-Comté, Ille-et-Vilaine, Languedoc, Loire-Haute Loire, Martinique-Guyane, Normandie-Seine, Provence Côte-d'Azur, Réunion, Savoie and Sud Rhône Alpes), as well as those of Amundi and Crédit Agricole Assurance for an amount of close to 8 million euros.

2019, third fundraising and new perspectives

With the last fundraising closed on June 28, 2019, five new Regional Funds (Alpes Provence, Brie Picardie, Finistère, Centre-Ouest and Touraine Poitou) subscribed to the FIR for an amount of 1.6 million euros.

With these resources, the FIR will expand its investments in the form of loans to microfinance institutions operating primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. As part of its mandate as advisor to the Fund, the Foundation identifies microfinance institutions, conducts due diligence on the ground, and, once this investigation work has been completed and validated by the CA Indosuez Wealth Investment Committee (Asset Management), also handles the follow-up process.

The loans are intended to refinance credits made to populations traditionally excluded from the banking sector living in rural areas, who constitute the main clientele of the targeted microfinance institutions.

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA in June 2018, Solidarity Banker is a skills-based volunteer program open to all Crédit Agricole Group employees, supporting microfinance institutions and impact businesses supported by the Foundation. To celebrate its first year, the program was highlighted at the Circle of Friends Meeting No. 4, held on July 9 at the Crédit Agricole Campus in Montrouge.

Solidarity Banker: First Year Review

The meeting was rich in exchanges, beginning with the intervention of Jean-Marie Sander, President of the Foundation, and that of Eric Campos, General Delegate of the Foundation and CSR Director of Crédit Agricole SA. Recalling the history of the Foundation and the various challenges it faces, both underlined the importance of providing technical support to the Foundation's partners with mechanisms such as Solidarity Banker.

Carolina Herrera, the Foundation's Director of Communications and Partnerships, then presented the framework for the Solidarity Banker program. Through one- to two-week field missions, Crédit Agricole Group employees support the Foundation's partners in responding to the technical support needs expressed by beneficiary organizations. Since the program began, 12 missions have been launched: a remarkable success that demonstrates the strong commitment of both employees and the Group.

The next Solidarity Bankers

To demonstrate this, Violette Cubier and Celine Hyon-Naudin, investment officers at the Foundation, presented the upcoming missions alongside two Solidarity Bankers. Sarah Belbachir of Crédit Agricole SA and Caman Kamougue of Crédit Agricole CIB are the two Solidarity Bankers who, supported by the Group's entities, will travel this summer to Morocco and Haiti to support Al Karama, a microfinance institution, and Palmis Enèji, a social impact company, respectively. They presented the objectives of the missions and highlighted their desire to contribute to a project with a strong social impact, as well as personal and professional enrichment, as the main motivations for becoming Solidarity Bankers.

The meeting concluded with a presentation of the Foundation's 2019-2022 Strategic Plan by Hélène Keraudren-Baube, Administrative and Financial Director, who outlined our three strategic pillars: strengthening expertise in microfinance, developing the resilience of rural economies and promoting impact finance within the Group.

As part of a cooperation scheme, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit du Maroc support Moroccan microfinance institutions that offer financial services to populations traditionally excluded from the traditional banking system.

An innovative partnership to support microfinance

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit du Maroc are committed to the microfinance sector in Morocco. They are implementing an intervention plan that allows Crédit du Maroc to finance the microfinance institution in local currency with a guarantee from the Foundation, which also handles the monitoring process.

Founded in 2008 by Crédit Agricole executives and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation finances and supports more than 75 microfinance institutions and social enterprises in Africa, Asia, and Europe, with over €80 million in outstanding loans. Crédit du Maroc has been supporting the country's economic development by financing individual and corporate clients since 1929.

With this partnership, Crédit du Maroc is strengthening its role as a bank committed to inclusive finance. “The partnership with the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation will allow us to better approach the ecosystem of very small businesses and income-generating activities, which represent half of the companies registered in the central commercial register in Morocco. It also underlines Crédit du Maroc's civic commitment as a socially responsible company by participating in financial inclusion,” said Baldoméro Valverde, Chairman of the Board of Crédit du Maroc.

For the Foundation, this is a great opportunity to multiply its impact by operating in Morocco for the first time. "Ten years after the Foundation's creation, we are building a new story with the Crédit Agricole Group. Alongside Crédit du Maroc, we will support Moroccan institutions to promote social entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and agricultural development. It's a shared, tireless commitment to moving forward together toward a more shared economy," says Eric Campos, General Delegate of the Foundation and Director of CSR at Crédit Agricole SA.

Al Karama, the first institution funded

The Foundation approved a guarantee of €1.1 million on a loan of MAD 10.4 million granted by Crédit du Maroc to the Al Karama Foundation for Microfinance.

This institution, which grants loans for the development of professional activities, serves more than 27,000 active borrowers, mainly women (57% of clients) and manages a portfolio of more than €10 million. It has operations throughout the country thanks to a network of 84 branches and 314 employees.

In cooperation with Crédit du Maroc, Al Karama will also benefit from technical assistance to improve its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML-CFT) systems as part of the “Solidarity Banker” skills volunteer program. This program, open to all Crédit Agricole Group employees, was launched in 2018 by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA to support organizations funded by the Foundation through technical assistance missions (//gca-foundation.org/banquier-solidaire).