Meeting No. 2 of the Circle of Friends of the Foundation

© FGCA

The second meeting of the Circle of Friends of the Foundation, the first of 2018, took place on June 26, and brought together employees of the Crédit Agricole group and the Foundation.

This event provided an opportunity to discuss the Foundation's work and its projects with the Group. The meeting featured three presentations focusing on the Foundation's activities in 2017, the "Solidarity Banker by CA" program, and cooperation plans with the Group's international entities.

Eric Campos, General Delegate of the Foundation, opened the event with a brief presentation of the Foundation and the 2017 Integrated Report. With 49.3 million in financing granted in 2017 and 69 microfinance and social business institutions supported in more than thirty countries, the Foundation posted a good record and reaffirmed its position as a committed player for a more shared economy.

The meeting then turned to the synergies between the Foundation and the Crédit Agricole Group. Carolina Herrera, Director of Communications & Investor and Partner Relations, presented the "Banquier Solidaire by CA" skills volunteer program, recently established between the Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA. This unique initiative in the history of the Group and the Foundation aims to strengthen the Foundation's support for microfinance institutions and social enterprises and to promote the skills of Crédit Agricole Group employees.

This is the case of Jonathan Michaud, an agricultural engineer from Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté, who came to share the experience of his mission at the Laiterie du Berger in Senegal, a social enterprise in which the Foundation and the Regional Fund are shareholders.

During this meeting of the Circle of Friends, Hélène Sananikone, Equity Investment Manager of the Foundation, and Jonathan Michaud presented the Laiterie du Berger, which promotes the development of the dairy sector in northern Senegal using a cooperative production method.

Beyond Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté's social commitment, it was the similarities between the Laiterie du Berger's business model and the Franche-Comté region's development paradigm that motivated the Regional Bank's support for this project. The outcome of this mission resulted in the development of a detailed action plan approved by the Laiterie's Board of Directors. The objective of this plan is to improve the productivity of this social enterprise and ensure the sustainability of its business model.

The final part of this meeting of the Circle of Friends of the Foundation focused on international cooperation between the Foundation and the Group. Caroline Brandt and Violette Cubier, Investment Officers at the Foundation, presented the cooperation schemes implemented in Egypt and currently being negotiated in India, Serbia, and Morocco. These partnerships will promote the financing of local microfinance institutions, allowing the Foundation to expand its activities and the Group's entities to position themselves as financiers of the social and solidarity economy.

The meeting concluded with an invitation to the next Circle of Friends meeting on October 2 at the Crédit Agricole Montrouge Campus. More news will follow on the Foundation's and the Group's commitments to inclusive finance and the development of rural economies around the world.