3,4M€
Wallet
45 915
Number of beneficiaries
100%
Women beneficiaries
100%
Rural beneficiaries
Zambia
Financial services
Funding granted
Loan of €500,000*
(local currency equivalent)
Partner of the Foundation
since 2020
*Outstanding at grant value
Context :
With a GDP of USD 25 billion in 2018, Zambia is the 4th largest economy in Southern Africa, behind South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe. Agriculture accounts for approximately 20 billion of the gross domestic product (GDP) and occupies a central place in the economy. It employs more than 50 billion of the workforce.
The company:
MicroLoan Foundation Zambia (MLF Zambia) is a non-profit microfinance institution established in 2008. Its activities are overseen by MicroLoan Foundation UK. MLF Zambia's core business is providing affordable business loans and training programs to low-income women living in predominantly rural areas of Zambia's Eastern, Southern, and Central provinces.
Impact :
MLF Zambia's mission is to significantly reduce poverty in the communities in which it operates. It achieves this by lending money to women's groups to help them establish sustainable businesses and by providing them with valuable training and long-term assistance. The institution lends exclusively to women in rural areas.
Foundation grants first loan to MLF Zambia
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is continuing its investments in East Africa and has just granted a first local currency loan equivalent to €250,000 to the microfinance institution MicroLoan Foundation Zambia (MLF Zambia), over a period of three years. This loan is made as part of the program of the African Facility which aims to strengthen small institutions.
MLF Zambia is a microfinance institution established in 2008. Its activities are overseen by the Microloan Foundation, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. MLF-Z's main activity is to provide low-income women living in predominantly rural areas of Zambia's Eastern, Southern, and Central Provinces with short-term loans of 4 to 6 months for productive purposes. The institution lends exclusively to women.
With this loan, the Foundation now has an outstanding amount of 36.4 million euros in the sub-Saharan African region, or 38% of the outstanding amount monitored by the Foundation.
___________________________________________________________
Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA's management and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is a multi-sector operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in 40 countries.
For more information on the organizations supported by the Foundation, Click here.