The impact of Crédit Agricole's FIR Fund in 2020

The FIR (Inclusive Finance in Rural Areas) is a Crédit Agricole impact fund that promotes financial inclusion in developing countries by financing rural microfinance institutions. As of December 31, 2020, the FIR had received subscriptions from 21 regional banks, Amundi, and CA Assurances (*) for a total of €9.75 million, which supported five microfinance institutions serving nearly 80,000 low-income people in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

In 2020, with the Covid-19 crisis, close monitoring was carried out with the organizations funded by the FIR to tailor support to each organization. Among the measures, an international coalition was created, at the initiative of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation - an advisor to the FIR - to protect microfinance institutions and their clients from the consequences of the crisis.

Around thirty investors and key players in the sector, including CA Indosuez Wealth (Asset Management) - Manager of the FIR - have joined this coalition and are coordinating in granting deadline extensions, technical assistance and information sharing to avoid a liquidity crisis in the sector and strengthen the resilience of microfinance institutions in this complex period.

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(*) Crédit Agricole Assurance, Amundi and 21 regional banks (Alpes Provence, Alsace-Vosges, Brie Picardie, Centre-east, Centre-France, Centre Loire, Centre-West, Champagne-Bourgogne, Charente-Périgord, Finistère, Franche-Comté, Ille-et-Vilaine, Languedoc, Loire-Haute Loire, Martinique-Guyana, Normandy-Seine, Provence Côte-d'Azur, Réunion, Savoie, South Rhône Alpes and Touraine Poitou).