17,4M$
Wallet
84 196
Number of beneficiaries
86 %
Women beneficiaries
63 %
Rural beneficiaries
Myanmar
Financial services
Funding granted
Loan of €2.3M*
(local currency equivalent)
Foundation Partner
since 2017
*Outstanding at grant value
Context :
The agricultural sector remains a key sector in Myanmar (281,000 people of GDP and 701,000 people of the working population), but the share of the service sector is increasing. The rural population stood at 69,421 people in 2018.
The institution:
VisionFund Myanmar (VFM) is a Tier 2 microfinance institution established in 1998 by VisionFund International (VFI). Its financial services enable poor households to increase their incomes.
Impact :
Vision Fund enables communities to increase economic activity, access clean water, education, and healthcare, and benefit from improved nutrition. The institution helps rural communities not served by traditional financial systems access the services they need.
Four new investments in Asia for the Foundation
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has just made four new investments in Asia, including a new partner in India. To date, the Foundation has 16 partners in Asia with a portfolio of €25 million.
Thus, in partnership with CA CIB India, the Foundation granted a guarantee equivalent to €5 million to the Indian microfinance institution Annapurna, for a loan granted by CA CIB India in local currency. Annapurna Finance Pvt. Ltd (AFPL) was established in 2009 and is now among the top ten NBFC MFIs in the country. The institution was established with the aim of serving economically backward clients by bringing them into integration, by providing needs-based financial services at their doorsteps. Its main objectives are to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment, offer tailor-made and needs-based products to meet all the needs of the clients' life cycle, and prioritize women and involve them directly in productive activities through self-help groups and access to finance, in order to create additional income opportunities. To date, the institution serves 1.6 million active borrowers, including 99% women and 85% rural borrowers.
Similarly, in Myanmar, the Foundation granted a new loan in local currency equivalent to €2.3 million over a four-year period to VisionFund Myanmar, a microfinance institution that lends small amounts of money to individuals who lack a measurable credit history, assets to secure loans, or access to traditional sources of financing. To date, VisionFund Myanmar has more than 190,000 clients, including 86% women and 59% clients in rural areas.
Also in Myanmar, the Foundation also granted a new loan in local currency equivalent to €1.8 million over a four-year period to the microfinance institution Proximity Designs on behalf of Proximity Finance, a microfinance program whose objective is to eradicate extreme poverty by treating the poor as clients. To date, the program has 117,000 clients, including 69% women.
Finally, in Cambodia, the Foundation granted a loan equivalent to €1.6 million to Chamroeun, a long-standing partner of the Foundation since 2010. Chamroeun is a microfinance institution that provides financial services to the poorest, excluded from the services offered by more commercial microfinance institutions. The institution serves more than 30,000 clients, including 821,000 women.
More information about the Foundation's partners here.