48M€
Wallet
17 435
Number of beneficiaries
40,5 %
Women beneficiaries
37,6 %
Rural beneficiaries
Mali
Financial services
Funding granted
Loan of €2.5M*
(local currency equivalent)
Partner of the Foundation
since 2019
(1 loan granted)
*Outstanding at grant value
Context :
Mali's economy remains dominated by the primary sector, particularly agriculture. Agriculture faces recurring challenges: repeated droughts since the 1970s, falling prices for raw materials such as cotton, and rising production costs (inputs and fuel).
The company:
A Tier 2 microfinance institution established in 2013 by the Baobab Group, it supports micro and small entrepreneurs throughout Mali. Baobab offers a wide range of digital and mobile solutions that allow clients to manage their finances simply and securely.
Impact :
Baobab Mali's mission is to provide high-quality, accessible financial services tailored to the needs of people excluded or underserved by the financial sector. Its goal is to improve the living conditions of its clients and their families and to contribute to the country's economic development.
The Foundation makes two new investments in sub-Saharan Africa
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is continuing its investments in sub-Saharan Africa, its priority area of intervention, with two new investments, including one with a new partner.
In Mali, the Foundation financed Baobab Mali (formerly Microcred), a Baobab Group entity, for the first time with a local currency loan equivalent to €2.5 million. Baobab Mali began its operational activities in 2013 in Bamako. It is a microfinance institution created at the initiative of a group of international partners eager to contribute to Mali's economic and social development. To qualify for loans, entrepreneurs must demonstrate one year of activity and six months of uninterrupted operations on their premises. To date, the institution has nearly 20,000 clients, including 46,000 women and approximately 35,000 clients in rural areas.
The Foundation also granted a new loan of €790,000 equivalent in local currency to the microfinance institution Bimas in Kenya. A partner of the Foundation since 2014, Bimas is a microenterprise development program (MED-P) established in 1992 under the auspices of PLAN Embu. Its objective was to provide training and credit to small businesses in the Gachoka sector of Mbeere district. The institution has continued to expand its activities targeting the unbanked population in the Embu region in order to contribute to sustained economic growth and employment in the rural sector, which will result in improved social well-being and increased income for the rural population in Kenya. To date, the institution has nearly 19,000 clients, including 65% women and 90% rural clients.