Matthieu Dardaillon and Jonas Guyot state it from the very first pages of their book: "The future belongs to those who do not give up." While still students at a prestigious business school, the two friends spent three years meeting social entrepreneurs, enlightened leaders and engaged citizens who use their businesses to be useful to society.

From Europe to Asia via Africa, they recount their exchanges with these "visionaries in action": Antonio Meloto, founder of Gawad Kalinga, which fights against poverty in the Philippines; Bagoré Bathily, of Laiterie du berger in Senegal; or Arnaud Poissonnier, founder of the microcredit network Babyloan… *

From this world tour, they have above all brought back the conviction that it is always possible to act, at one's own level and in one's own way. "Given the scale of the challenges we face, we can be tempted by cynicism, which leads to inaction. Yet, it seems to us that there has never been a better time to act." write the two authors, now aged 27 and 28, who have both founded their own structures – the association Ticket for Change and the company Corporate for Change.

Beyond these stories, this book challenges us with the questions this generation raises. With unparalleled dynamism, armed with strong convictions and unwavering optimism, they are often searching for their place in the world they are discovering. How can I give meaning to my work? How can I have a positive impact on society? Should I be wary of corporations? Is the system reformable from within? Their answers are certainly not the worst.

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* La Laiterie du Berger and Babyloan are partners of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

Source : The Cross

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has granted a new three-year loan of €1.9 million to the Cambodian microfinance institution LOLC Cambodia. This loan is the fifth granted by the Foundation to this institution (formerly TPC), a partner since 2010.

With this new loan, LOLC Cambodia, whose mission is to provide entrepreneurs and families at the base of the socio-economic pyramid with economic opportunities to improve their quality of life and their community through the provision of effective and sustainable financial services, represents 55% of the Foundation's microfinance commitments in Cambodia where it currently has three partner MFIs.

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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 Ivory Coast, deposits in microfinance institutions (MFIs) increased by 3,47% in 5 years, rising from 72 billion in 2012 to 250 billion FCFA at the end of September 2017, according to figures from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

This development was accompanied by a growth in outstanding credit over the period, which stood at 250 billion FCFA compared to 57 billion in 2012, reflecting the revival of the sector, which had suffered the repercussions of the decade of crisis that the country experienced between 2002 and 2010. These figures support the results of a study by the Oxford Business Group (OBG) firm, which indicated last June that the MFI client base had more than doubled between 2014 and 2016 to reach 1.17 million accounts with deposits of around 210 billion (end of 2016), an increase of 66.5% over the period.

The microfinance sector is therefore experiencing renewed dynamism in line with the Ivorian economic upturn of recent years. […] With a banking penetration rate of 34% including MFIs, the scope for microfinance development remains significant compared to the levels of 40% in Ghana and 75% reached in Kenya, according to OBG. At the end of March 2017, there were 53 microfinance institutions in Côte d'Ivoire.