The Foundation grants 7 new funding projects in Sub-Saharan Africa

During the second half of 2021, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation granted seven new financings in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, the Foundation manages a portfolio of €83 million, including €341 million in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Kenya, the Foundation has granted a new loan to the microfinance institution Bimas for an amount in local currency equivalent to 800,000 euros. Bimas is a microfinance institution whose mission is to offer innovative financial and non-financial services to people living in rural areas. Bimas has nearly 18,400 clients, including 59% women and 86% rural clients. The Foundation also granted a new loan to ECLOF Kenya for an amount in local currency equivalent to 1.2 million euros. ECLOF Kenya is a microfinance institution whose mission is to enable clients to realize their projects by offering financial and related non-financial services. To date, the institution has more than 38,000 clients, including 63% women.

In Benin, the Foundation granted a new loan to the microfinance institution Renaca for an amount in local currency equivalent to 1.5 million euros. Renaca is a microfinance institution that seeks to strengthen the economic base of vulnerable rural, peri-urban, and urban populations. The institution has nearly 41,000 clients living in rural areas, 571 of whom are women.

In Burkina Faso, the Foundation also granted a new loan to the microfinance institution ACEP Burkina for an amount in local currency equivalent to 2 million euros. ACEP Burkina is a microfinance institution that offers financial services to people excluded from the traditional banking sector. ACEP Burkina primarily targets micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (VSEs and SMEs) in urban and peri-urban areas. It finances nearly 18,000 clients, including 211 women, and operates exclusively in urban areas.

In Cameroon, the Foundation granted a loan to another institution of the ACEP network, ACEP Cameroon, for an amount in local currency equivalent to 2 million euros. ACEP Cameroon is a microfinance institution whose mission is to support the development of Very Small Enterprises (VSEs) in the country's urban centers. To date, the institution has approximately 15,000 clients, including 341VSEs of women and 281VSEs in rural areas.

In Uganda, VisionFund Uganda received a loan equivalent to €400,000. VisionFund Uganda is a microfinance institution, a subsidiary of World Vision. The institution operates nationwide in Uganda with 23 branches. VisionFund expanded its reach into the West Nile region to serve refugees and their host communities as part of a pilot project developed by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. Today, the institution has nearly 45,000 clients, 951 in rural areas and 591 women.

Finally, the Foundation granted a new loan to the microfinance institution LAPO, in Sierra Leone, for an amount equivalent to 600,000 euros. The institution mainly grants microcredits to women in disadvantaged areas. Today, LAPO is one of the largest institutions in the country, covering 80% of the national territory. It has nearly 23,000 clients, including 93% women and 84% clients in rural areas.

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