[TESTIMONY] A SOLIDARITY BANKER IN CAMBODIA

©Philippe Lissac/GODONG

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA in 2018, Solidarity Bankers is a skills-based volunteer program open to all Crédit Agricole Group employees in support of microfinance institutions or impact businesses supported by the Foundation.

Discover the opinion piece by Jean Baptiste Bounes, Solidarity Banker at SODICA, who carried out a remote mission between 2020 and 2021 in support of Phare Performing Social Enterprise (PPSE).

Fighting poverty through entrepreneurship

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, and more specifically the Solidarity Bankers program, were introduced to me by Eric Campos during a CACIF corporate plenary session in December 2019. I was immediately drawn to the Foundation's mission to combat poverty by promoting socially impactful entrepreneurship and inclusive finance in developing countries. I then contacted the Foundation to receive the various Solidarity Bankers offers and apply for those that matched my motivations and skills.

After several interviews conducted by the Foundation team, I was selected to advise PPSE in Cambodia on its fundraising strategy.

The proposed mission met my expectations in every way: to be able to put my skills to good use on a project with a strong social impact in a difficult context linked to Covid-19; to discover a new culture and to get out of my professional comfort zone.

The challenge of this mission was to be able to successfully collaborate remotely over a long period while maintaining intensity in the fundraising process.

A remote mission during a pandemic

Due to restrictions related to the health context, I participated through my intervention with PPSE in the Foundation's first remote Solidarity Bankers mission.

Unlike field missions, which typically take place over two consecutive weeks, my mission was carried out one day per week over 15 weeks. This schedule was better suited to a fundraising operation, allowing me to be present alongside the manager and shareholders for the long term.

Real educational work was carried out during the first discussions to ensure that the level of understanding of the different issues was the same for each participant.

Additionally, weekly meetings were organized to maintain close collaboration despite the distance. Defining the various stages of the process in advance also facilitated its smooth execution. This planning allowed the Foundation to consider new remote missions with confidence.

Skills volunteering: an experience to be repeated

This experience was very enriching, both on a human and professional level.

First of all, the real autonomy I was given allowed me to ask myself the right questions, assert myself, and gain the confidence to successfully complete my daily tasks. This experience undoubtedly marked a turning point in my professional career.

I also had the chance to work alongside a company with a strong social impact and Impact Investing funds, which was really important to me as I find this world exciting and promising.

This mission also brought me a lot on a human level. I discovered a very different culture and met inspiring and enriching people.

I would particularly like to thank Dara Huot, CEO of PPSE, for her extreme generosity, kindness, and trust. The investment in terms of time and workload is certainly significant, but if I had to do it all over again, I would do it again without hesitation.