Jordan: A partnership for a better shared economy

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is providing $2 million in funding to the microfinance institution FINCA Jordan as part of a partnership with CoopMed. This transaction is part of a long-term collaboration between the Foundation and FINCA International.

FINCA Jordan: A decade of action in favor of entrepreneurship

Since 1985, the FINCA International network has been promoting access to finance for low-income people. With 1.9 million clients in over 20 countries, it operates in Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Over the past 30 years, it has supported the entrepreneurial projects of over 4 million borrowers, primarily women.

Founded in 2007 in Jordan, FINCA Jordan MFI has nine branches and 29,000 clients. With an average loan of $1,550, outstanding loans total $29 million. It offers financing tailored to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as solidarity and individual loans.

Tripartite cooperation with impact

FINCA Jordan has become a new partner of the Foundation as part of a partnership between the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Inpulse, a social impact fund manager. FINCA Jordan, which is both socially efficient and economically viable, has received $2 million in funding.

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is strengthening its presence in the Middle East through this initiative. Operating in 30 countries, the Foundation continues its efforts to provide access to finance for people traditionally excluded from the banking sector. With this partnership, Inpulse, which has an investment capacity of €58 million, is also strengthening its presence and activities in one of its 14 countries of operation.

This joint venture, funded by two European impact investment players, illustrates the value of partnerships in inclusive finance. Based on a shared set of fundamental values, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Inpulse, and FINCA International are pursuing a path forward: a more inclusive economy strengthened by those who believe in the strength and virtue of alliances.

CP-Pret-2M-FINCA-Jordan-CoopMed-FGCA-FINCA

14th Annual World Microfinance Forum

At the 14th UNIGLOBAL Annual Microcredit Forum in Munich on March 15-16, Jurgen Hammer, Director of Risk and Social Performance at the Gramen Crédit Agricole Foundation, participated in the panel discussion: "Microfinance and Impact Investment: Creating Value and Protecting the Client." The panel included representatives from Incofin, BIO, and KfW.

Jurgen Hammer presented an overview of social performance management in inclusive finance, the development and application of the Universal Standards and the SPI4 assessment tool. He encouraged the sector to apply best practices in responsible and inclusive finance and to measure performance through its Universal Standards and actively manage improvements. His presentation concluded with an example of concrete implementation by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, which, for the second consecutive year, conducted a social performance assessment of its partners' portfolio in 2017 and a comparison of reference groups for in-depth qualitative analysis.

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Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA's management and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole SA Foundation is a multi-sector operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator, and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.

Green Index or how to link finance and climate

Green microfinance is a term that arouses curiosity. What does it mean? Are we talking about responsibility, economy, or commitment? How can the convergence of the concepts of "green" and "inclusive" be viable?

To address these challenges, the Green Index was designed in 2016 as a tool to measure the environmental performance of microfinance institutions. Find answers to all your questions in this complete and detailed file produced by the Microfinance and Environment Working Group of the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP)

The objective of e-MFP is to promote cooperation between European entities active in microfinance in developing countries. e-MFP fosters high-level discussions, communication, and the exchange of information. eMFP's vision is to become the focal point for microfinance in Europe, connected to the Global South through its members.

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Founded in 2006, the e-MFP platform is a growing network of over 120 organizations and individuals active in the field of microfinance. As a multi-stakeholder organization, the network represents the microfinance community in Europe. e-MFP members include banks, financial institutions, government agencies, NGOs, consulting firms, researchers, and universities. The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is a member of e-MFP.

Digital finance, a weapon against exclusion?

Our partner ADA is taking action with the Digital Finance Initiative (DFI), which aims to facilitate and co-finance the implementation of digital solutions by microfinance institutions in 12 sub-Saharan African countries. Covering a period of five years, from 2017 to 2021, this ambitious project will provide fast, affordable, and secure access to banking services.

Support in 3 steps

1e step: initial priority identification workshop
The DFI workshop brings together MFI senior executives for a week. It aims to give them a comprehensive overview of the various challenges, opportunities, and constraints posed by new technologies. It provides them with the tools to analyze all possible scenarios for integrating digital technology into their strategy and to assess the expected impacts in technical, operational, financial, and regulatory terms. The goal is for participants to emerge from the workshop with clear ideas about the digital strategy they wish to adopt.

2e step: pre-project phase: definition of a digital project
MFIs wishing to pursue the adventure first have their new project validated by their governance. Then, supported by the ADA manager in charge of the "Digital Finance Initiative" project and local consultants, they can launch their action plan. This plan includes the establishment of specifications, the publication of calls for tenders and the selection of technical service providers, the establishment of a schedule, and finally the drafting of a co-financing file that will be submitted to a selection committee, composed of members of the ADA Board of Directors, Deloitte Digital, POST Luxembourg, and LuxFLAG. The file, if approved, is co-financed by ADA (and possibly other donors) up to €70% of the investment costs, up to a ceiling of €100,000.

3e stage: pilot phase: implementation of the digital project
Once the Committee has accepted the application, the project can begin to be implemented with a pilot project involving one or two branches. At this stage, ADA offers the MFI financial support, as well as assistance in all areas impacted by the project: redefinition of procedures, training needs for staff and clients, and risk management. Once the testing phase is complete and conclusive, the MFI rolls out the project across the entire network. This is when ADA's support ends, and the institution is then considered autonomous.

Find the full article here !

[Social Business] Arrival in a Social Impact Foundation

By Juliette Charrier, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

When you join a social impact foundation, you come with a lot of preconceived ideas and idealism. At least that was my case. I was finally going to learn the recipe for impact, qualitative and quantitative, to finally find models that make sense, are effective in fighting poverty, perform financially well, and align the interests of all stakeholders in the value chain. A cold shower. Nothing is black or white; having an impact is difficult, and we haven't found a magic formula yet. But, step by step, we're realizing that it is indeed possible to contribute to the economic development of emerging countries, support companies that create economic opportunities, and that compensate their stakeholders inclusively and fairly.

First, the disillusionment: have we been lied to for 10 years? Can social businesses really combine profitable growth with social impact? At first glance at our portfolio, we want to throw in the towel and ask ourselves: aren't we creating a speculative financial and social bubble around the concept of social business, claiming it works when the numbers aren't there? Despair and loss of confidence.

Then, by digging deeper into the issues and learning about each social business, we realize that there are significant and concrete improvements, sometimes operational, sometimes social, sometimes both... except in extreme cases, there are results. It's reassuring, exciting. Renewed hope for social business companies.

Results, certainly, but still well below expectations. We're therefore thinking about the means to implement, realizing that it's a long-term road and that we need good support. We also conclude that there are as many situations in social businesses as there are variables that must be brought together to ensure their success. But are we alone in this situation?

Out of step: Some impact funds claim to have a real social impact and market returns: how is this possible? Two lessons: 1) the notion of impact investing is very broad and ranges from "investments that do no harm, to investments that seek at all costs to do good." 2) the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation finances more social startups than social businesses or programs. The Foundation therefore belongs to "impact investing," in the "social business" sub-compartment, but more precisely in the Seed-Capital Risk drawer for Social Impact, due to its low average tickets and the entrepreneurial nature of the companies invested in. When we realize that Venture Capital funds rely on a "unicorn" company to realize the added value that will absorb the costs of a dozen less successful investments, while generating returns if possible to remunerate managers and shareholders, all this in flourishing and developed economies... we can measure the challenge that Seed Social Business Funds are setting themselves in emerging countries.

Is it a financial problem? Are investment funds investing too little to truly enable social business ventures to grow, structure themselves, and create a business? According to the GIIN report, internal rates of return (IRR) do not vary according to the total size of the funds but can vary according to the size of the investments.

Is it a problem of extra-financial resources? The entrepreneur's isolation and lack of qualified support? How can lessons be learned from investments that are so diverse in terms of manager profile, target market, socioeconomic context, company added value, targeted beneficiaries, etc.?

And even if all this were to work, are social businesses the best way to achieve impact? Wouldn't it be better to try to change the methods and practices of large, already resilient groups in emerging countries to have a real impact at scale? Integrating new stakeholders, such as new customer and supplier segments, could ultimately have greater impact.

Ultimately, we grow up, understanding that the goal is not to have the most profitable social impact, but to contribute to the economic development of emerging countries, by integrating previously excluded actors into value chains, creating jobs and providing access to essential goods to as many people as possible. The main thing is that we find ourselves in a stimulating environment, where situations evolve quickly, where we grope in search of fruitful mechanisms, where we try to strengthen social business enterprises through enriching partnerships, in search of financial balance and maximization of social utility, and where innovation is everywhere.

News from the front

Social Business customers = 100% beneficiaries? Not necessarily! In social business ventures, we often think that the customers are the beneficiaries. This would be ideal for maximizing impact. But for the company to have an impact, it must first and foremost be able to operate with a minimum profitability to cover its costs. Thus, we realize that in order to diversify its risk and strengthen the company, it is preferable for the company to address different segments of the population, beneficiaries and "traditional" customers. At least, this is the opinion of OikoCredit, which recommends starting a social business in the field of access to solar energy by first targeting customers who have the financial means, and then including the BOP (Bottom of Pyramid) segment in their business model.

Social impact challenges aren't always where you'd expect them. When seeking to include a marginalized population in an agricultural value chain to improve their income and living conditions, the first thing that comes to mind is the need to improve the resources of small farmers. While procuring inputs, preparing, and cultivating a field requires time and money, these steps don't prove to be the biggest obstacle facing marginalized small farmers. According to the Managing Director of Selina Wamucii, a fruit and vegetable export company in Kenya, the real factor excluding small producers is their difficult access to economic opportunities. Indeed, while NGOs, impact funds, and governments are mobilizing to finance the upstream production process, they should also ensure the downstream sector. Strong market demand will reassure small producers, who will no longer be afraid to take out a loan without the assurance of a future income.

Don't be dazzled by solar energy. Access to solar energy has been booming in recent years. It provides access to clean energy at a competitive price for marginalized or off-grid populations. It also enables the financial inclusion of unbanked segments through mobile payments and PAYG (pay as you go) mechanisms. There's no denying that solar energy has many positive effects. However, it's important not to oversell the social impact of solar energy: indeed, selling solar panels to a farmer will provide better lighting, but it won't necessarily generate income. A small producer will primarily need energy to irrigate their fields, plow their plots, and sell their produce quickly and at a fair price. It's therefore important not to overstate the impact; solar energy will improve the living conditions of beneficiaries, but it won't necessarily generate income.

After eight years of active social business, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation wanted to learn from its experience and share it! It therefore presents the challenges these social business enterprises face. The Foundation makes proposals to strengthen this promising model.

Discover the White Paper on Social Business

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Sources
//nextbillion.net/theres-no-app-to-fix-farming-a-lifelong-smallholder-shares-what-social-business-is-getting-wrong/
//nextbillion.net/are-financial-returns-starting-to-compete-with-social-goals-an-impact-investor-assesses-its-involvement-in-off-grid-solar/

Microfinance: a sector in full (r)evolution

By Amélie Riou and Alice Forgeois, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

©Philippe Lissac / Godong

When we think of microfinance, we might think of small loans for populations without access to credit, only in the most remote and abandoned areas, by small operators managing their clients' outstanding loans on paper or old computers, solely to finance a business activity. In short, nothing revolutionary or innovative? Think again! Microfinance continues to evolve and adapt to its environment: better client relations and protections, digital services, and innovative product offerings to quickly meet essential needs. Let yourself be surprised!

Microfinance and GAFA*, a possible love story?

Microfinance is no longer the preserve of NGOs and specialized microfinance institutions. At least, not exclusively anymore. For the better? New players—internet, mobile, and digital giants—are taking an interest in microfinance and offering microloans. It's easy: they know their clients well and can exchange information and money with them very quickly. Some examples:

Baidu, the Chinese Google, is distributing microloans through its Chongqing subsidiary Baidu Micro Finance to ride the wave of consumer credit, which is growing strongly in China and, as of September 2017, represented a market worth 30.2 billion yuan (3.9 billion euros). Baidu said it uses big data, machine learning, and facial recognition technology to help it evaluate the credit files of potential borrowers. Microborrowers repay directly via a "wallet" application, and loan applications are made online. These loans are often intended to finance studies at private institutions (English language training, vocational training, or IT training).
At the same time, in September 2017, Amazon announced a partnership with Bank of Baroda (India) to offer microloans to individual sellers registered on the platform. To date, loans are offered to sellers who meet a number of criteria (Amazon account creation date, seller's sales history, customer returns, seller compliant with Amazon's e-commerce rules). Indian sellers will be able to directly use the profits from their sales to repay their loan. Amazon aims to attract 15 to 20% of Amazon India's customers in one year...! Be careful, digital technology can be a channel for the development of microfinance, but could ultimately be a factor of additional financial exclusion, recording and making available a large amount of information and borrower history...

Microfinance and macro-services?

Green microfinance, micronutrition, agricultural insurance... No apparent connection between these different themes? Well, yes. These services are now an integral part of the activities of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and complement traditional credit offerings. Gone are the days of the traditional model, and welcome to microfinance 2.0! Thanks to the geographic diversity of MFIs, the proximity they maintain with each client, and their strong rural roots, microfinance is becoming a preferred channel for the distribution of new services.

A team of researchers recently wanted to know if it was possible to use the MFI network to combat malnutrition, which is almost always linked to poverty in developing countries. The team therefore made micronutrients containing 15 essential vitamins and minerals available to the institutions and then measured the impact of this distribution through blood sampling. Following this study, this distribution network appeared to be very effective in combating malnutrition. To confirm the results, a study will be conducted throughout Haiti. Great developments are on the horizon!

Not very widespread in Africa but with immense potential for growth, agricultural microinsurance offers small producers the opportunity to insure their crops against various risks (climatic events, diseases, etc.). How can access to microinsurance be democratized? Through microfinance, in particular: the insurance product can be offered to the client along with a microcredit loan.

The range of credit products has also expanded considerably in recent years: specific microcredits for access to renewable energy, decent housing, etc. An increasingly broad range of products that allows us to best cover the needs of populations, on levels that are as different as they are necessary.

Microfinance: Towards New Horizons?

Historically intended for developing countries, microfinance is also present in Europe.

Why? It is presented as one of the possible responses to the economic crisis, social unrest, or financial exclusion, and is supported by governments. By whom? Thanks in particular to non-bank financial institutions and NGOs. For whom? According to the 8th Convergences Microfinance Barometer, the gross outstanding microcredit portfolio in Europe amounts to €2.5 billion, including €711 billion intended for professional purposes for people with limited access to financial resources. Under what conditions? The terms and conditions of these loans vary greatly between different European countries: from €31 billion in Poland, Finland, and France to €281 billion in Serbia, with average loans per borrower ranging from around €100 to a maximum of €25,000. In addition to microcredit, these European MFIs are increasingly offering additional services, such as savings, insurance, etc.

In addition to expanding to new countries, microfinance is adapting to countries where it has already been present for many years: Islamic microfinance is growing. Why? To satisfy potential beneficiaries who do not resort to traditional microfinance due to their religious beliefs. How? By adapting the traditional microfinance model to market products that comply with Sharia laws, mainly by removing the notion of interest rates from the products offered. What are the prospects? Still a minority compared to the sector as a whole, the Islamic microfinance market is growing rapidly in many countries. The three pioneering countries of this microfinance are Indonesia, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, but the model is expected to expand to improve financial inclusion for all. What are the impacts? The reach of this new type of microfinance is very significant in Muslim countries, given, for example, that approximately 561,000 Moroccans refuse to use microfinance for religious reasons.

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* Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon
Sources
//www.businessworld.ie/news-from-ireland/Microfinance-loan-funding-supports-over-3-300-jobs-569815.html
//www.carenews.com/fr/news/9291-eclairage-bilan-2017-de-la-microfinance-en-europe
//group.bnpparibas/news/microfinance-europe-bnp-paribas-invests-creates-jobs
//www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/11/24/a-cause-for-optimism-for-the-future-of-islamic-finance.html
//www.devex.com/news/opinion-it-s-time-to-rethink-how-we-view-microfinance-institutions-91486
//ideas4development.org/green-microfinance-a-solution-for-access-to-essential-services/
//paperjam.lu/communique/lhabitat-fait-partie-integrante-de-notre-business-model
//www.scmp.com/business/article/2119338/chinese-internet-giant-baidus-micro-loan-unit-seeks-786m-yuan-through-asset
//www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/amazon-partners-with-bank-of-baroda-to-offer-micro-loans-to-sellers-4046977.html
//techguru.fr/2017/11/03/chine-acces-microcredit-technologies/

The Foundation grants a loan of €330,000 to Chamroeun in Cambodia

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has granted a two-year loan of €330,000 to the Chamroeun microfinance institution in Cambodia. The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has granted a two-year loan of €330,000 to the Chamroeun microfinance institution in Cambodia, in which it has been a shareholder since 2012, amounting to 20%. With this new loan, the Foundation's cumulative investment in this social enterprise stands at €1.6 million as of the end of December 2017.

Chamroeun is a microfinance institution that places social vocation at the heart of its business model. It provides financial services to the poorest, excluded from the services offered by more commercial microfinance institutions. To maximize the impact of credit and effectively assist very poor families, it also offers them a range of training and economic, social, and personal support services. As of the end of September 2017, the institution had 24,530 active clients, including 811 TP3T, with an average loan granted to its clients equivalent to 315 euros.

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Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA's management and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole SA Foundation is a multi-sector operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator, and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.

The Foundation strengthens its support for the Laiterie du Berger

© Philippe Lissac

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has strengthened its support for Laiterie du Berger, in which it holds 11.5% of the capital, with a new investment. The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has strengthened its support, which it began in 2010, for Laiterie du Berger, in which it holds 11.5% of the capital, with a new investment in the form of a shareholder current account and a new equity investment. With this new investment, the Foundation's investment in Laiterie du Berger is €758,000, representing €16% of the Foundation's Social Business commitments.

La Laiterie du Berger is a social enterprise that recycles milk collected from Fulani herders in northern Senegal, transforming it into yogurts and other dairy products sold under the Dolima brand. By providing a steady income for herders and helping them improve their herds' productivity, La Laiterie du Berger contributes to strengthening the local economy and increasing food security in the country, which imports more than 90% of the milk it consumes.

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Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA's management and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole SA Foundation is a multi-sector operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator, and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.

In 2017, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation continued its growth

© Philippe Lissac

At the end of December 2017, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation had recorded €64.1 million in commitments, including €57.5 million in financing to microfinance institutions and €4.8 million in investments in social businesses, representing a year-on-year increase of €451 million. In 2017, 44 funding applications were approved for a total of €49.3 million. Since its creation in 2008, the Foundation has granted 250 financings for a cumulative amount of €196.5 million.

The Foundation has expanded its area of intervention with new partnerships in Montenegro, Kazakhstan, and Burma. It now has 69 active partners and operates in 28 countries, 86% of which are among the world's poorest. 48% of the funding is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and 23% in South and Southeast Asia; these two geographic areas each account for 35% of the Foundation's commitments at the end of the year. Women and rural populations represent 76% and 81% of the 3 million clients of the institutions funded by the Foundation. The average loan they grant is around 550 euros.

In 2018, the Foundation will continue its development in new countries by seeking to expand its network of partners whose commonality will continue to be a high level of social performance, the financial autonomy of women and the economic development of rural areas.

Accounting for social utility in the company's financial statement

© 1001Fontaines

Half of the world's economic wealth is held by 1% of the population. The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few continues to accelerate. This harsh and indecent observation calls into question a foundation of our economic and social beliefs: no, the law of the markets does not result in a naturally fair balance; no, the sum of individual interests does not converge towards the best possible general interest. Making the rich richer does not benefit the greatest number, the so-called "trickle-down" effect does not work as well as we imagine. If the product of capital primarily benefits those who own it, then growth will never be distributed fairly among all stakeholders. This primacy specific to modern capitalism has marked a long era of economic development, but it has mainly been made possible by the exploitation of exhaustible resources. This era is ending. We can no longer escape questioning the environmental and social consequences of our wealth-creating machine.

Theorized by Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, "social business," a business model in which social utility takes precedence over return on invested capital, has been experimented with as such for about ten years. This model also exists in France. In the old economic paradigm, where individualism was triumphant and its consequence, widespread job insecurity, the encounter between financial and social performance resonated as a contradiction, a paradox. An idealist's whim. And yet, their encounter, however singular it may be, is a path forward for rethinking and redefining a more responsible capitalism and a deliberately inclusive economy.

The social enterprise is very traditional in its pursuit of profitability. It is also very different: social utility is its primary goal. Its way of creating sustainable value lies in its ability to implement a collective utility at the origin of its creation.

The notion of utility as a "service provided to the customer" is inherent to any commercial enterprise. Sometimes, utility even takes on a social character, but for companies, this remains an efficiency strategy. The social business, for its part, exists solely through and for its social mission, no longer in its own interest alone but in that of society as a whole. This translates into a sort of contract that it enters into with its ecosystem, the starting point for building a shared future. Beyond an encounter and an openness that transcend the boundaries of the company, the social enterprise provides positive effects, equity, and concrete and beneficial changes to as many people as possible.

Impact investing in the form of equity investments in social enterprises is a promising but risky, difficult, and patient undertaking. The public and investors have long been lulled by an exciting fantasy. The idea is certainly beautiful. But the reality is tough. Returns on investments take a long time to achieve, sometimes uncertain, and projects require consistent financial support to develop. Engaging in social entrepreneurship is a matter of tenacity.

Social enterprise undoubtedly holds the beginnings of an economic transformation. There are true champions of social enterprises, but few achieve success. Many, however, have proven themselves to be formidable amplifiers and disseminators of a renewed vision of business, driven by energy and a desire to improve worrying social and environmental situations.

Developing social business requires specific financing tools as much as adapting to the traditional financing methods of generalist banks. To achieve this, we must embrace a real economic revolution: social utility must be able to be accounted for in a company's revenues and balance sheet. Designing this integration means accepting a real paradigm shift in the treatment of the social economy. It is probably one of the only ways to disseminate a socially responsible economic model fueled by entrepreneurial dynamics.

The social enterprise will thus be able to more clearly display its operational performance and leverage traditional bank financing. The path that social entrepreneurship invites us to follow is that of a world profoundly in need of regeneration. Social business is an expression of capitalism. It is one of its voices, the voice of those who desire to discover new sources of useful entrepreneurship. It is also the path to a renewed liberal economy through reasonable, responsible, and sustainable exploration.

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Source: Le Monde