The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation in 2021

Eric Campos, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation

In 2021, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation supported 81 microfinance institutions and social enterprises in 37 countries. Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the Foundation supported its partners with financing and technical assistance. A spotlight on an interview with Eric Campos, General Delegate of the Foundation and CSR Director at Crédit Agricole SA.

How did you support microfinance institutions?

Contrary to what we expected, the entire year 2021 was marked by the Covid crisis and its economic effects, as well as the measures taken by governments to protect populations. The Foundation therefore intervened in three ways with partners. First, we maintained a fairly high level of financing, with €45 million loaned to microfinance institutions. We also granted loan deferrals to give institutions breathing space and allow them to cope with the loan deferrals they granted to their beneficiaries. And finally, we increased our capacity and our coordination in terms of technical assistance, since, and this is a record, we coordinated 130 technical assistance missions, mainly to support institutions in terms of risks, counterparty risks, strengthening their risk teams, their organization, and also in terms of cash management.

How is the microfinance sector doing at the end of 2021?

2020 was a Covid year, and institutions coped with and were able to cope with this systemic crisis. 2021 was tougher. They had been somewhat exhausted by the first year of 2020, and they had to continue their efforts and their resilience. And so, indeed, the Foundation was able to support these institutions, but we saw some difficult cases arise for which not only postponements but also restructurings had to be granted.

It's important to say that the entire microfinance sector, including foundations and investment funds, were able to work together to best support the institutions experiencing the greatest difficulties. The sector remains resilient. It's an attractive sector. We can say that it faced this systemic crisis with a resilience that was probably even greater than we expected.

What is the Foundation's agenda for 2022?

2022 will be the year we prepare our medium-term plan, 2022-2025. It will focus on the climate crisis, which is severely impacting the Foundation's areas of operation.

Better supporting rural populations and strengthening their economic resilience in the aftermath of an extremely serious economic crisis; this will be the first area we will work on. And the second is supporting the most vulnerable populations, those who have also suffered from this economic crisis and who need support in accessing financing and developing income-generating activities. These will be the two focuses of our 2022-2025 medium-term plan.

Access the interview here