Montenegro’s economy is mainly based on agriculture an livestock breeding; the estimated number of workers employed in the primary sector reaches 60%. The rural population in Montenegro amounts to 33.19% (2018).
The Institution:
Created in 2005, Monte Crédit is a tier 3 microfinance institution. Its mission is to give rural families the means to create income and jobs that unlock the economic potential for communities to thrive.
Impact:
The main activity of Monte Credit is to provide economic and financial support to the most vulnerable people in the underdeveloped regions of Montenegro and to create sustainable entrepreneurial activities, with the aim of promoting growth and development in the long term.
The Foundation has made its first investment in Montenegro
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation made its first investment in Montenegro with a € 500,000 loan over a three-year period to Monte Credit, a microfinance institution owned by Agroinvest Holding, a subsidiary of Vision Fund International.
Clients targeted by Monte Credit Montenegro are poor households, households that develop small commercial activities, microenterprises in the areas of trade, agricultural production / processing / sales as well as small and medium-sized tourism businesses. Monte Credit offers its customers primarily agricultural and business loans, according to the individual loan methodology.
With this new loan, the Foundation now has 14 partners in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, representing 25% of its microfinance partners, for a total commitment in the region amounting to € 16 million at the end of 2017.
Created in 2008, under the joint impetus of the directors of Crédit Agricole S.A. and Professor Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole SA Foundation is a multi-business operator that contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and entrepreneurship with a social impact. As an investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator and fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.
Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation recorded good results in 2017
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation registered 45% growth in its commitments in 2017, in line with its forecasts. This positive result was praised at the Board meeting of March 7th.
The Foundation has allocated nearly €200 million in financing since its creation in 2008. It intervenes in 70 microfinance institutions and social businesses in 28 countries. Women and rural populations represent 76% and 81% respectively of the more than 3 million customers of the institutions that the Foundation supports through financing and technical assistance. On the support front, the Foundation’s teams oversaw 50 technical assistance missions for 16 partner institutions.
2017 was a year of growth with a net operating result that achieved a surplus too whilst preserving a risk profile without negative development. The Foundation thus showed that it was capable of combining social performance with economic balance. We refocused on our core activity this year whilst increasing our capacity to act. Thus, in 2017, 44 financing projects were submitted to the Investment Committee for an additional amount of nearly €50 million in loans.
The Foundation expanded its intervention zone with new partnerships in Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Myanmar. 86% of our countries of intervention are among the poorest in the world. 48% of the financing projects are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and 23% in South and South-East Asia, each of which represented 35% of the Foundation’s commitments at the end of the year.
Convened in Luxembourg on 6 and 7 March, the Foundation’s Board members expressed their satisfaction and congratulated the Foundation’s teams for these results which honour the institution. The Board meeting was also an opportunity to chart the operational options for the next medium-term plan 2019-2023 and to launch a project to create an investment fund aimed at improving the operational excellence and resilience of our partners.
Committed alongside the microfinance institutions, taking part in the boom of rural economies and beyond, and acting together for a more inclusive economy, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation remains focused, humble, yet active and daring in the service of its founding mission to fight against poverty.
The Foundation pursues its investments in Europe and Central Asia
In recent months, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has continued to develop its portfolio with new investments in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
It has thus granted a new loan to the microfinance institution Monte Credit in Montenegro, for a total amount of € 1 million over a three-year period. Monte Credit offers its clients primarily agricultural and business loans, according to the individual loan methodology. To date, the institution, which manages a portfolio of € 7.4 million, has around 4,600 clients, 55% of whom are women. 56% of its clients live in rural areas.
The Foundation has also granted two new loans totaling € 2.5 million to the Georgian microfinance institution Lazika, whose mission is to facilitate access to financial services tailored to entrepreneurs. With a € 14 million portfolio, the institution now has around 11,000 clients, 47% of whom are women and 75% of whom live in rural areas.
Finally, the Foundation granted a new loan over a three-year period to OXUS Tajikistan for an amount of €1.2 million. OXUS Tajikistan is a microfinance institution that focuses on rural areas where over 80% of its clients live and work. To date, the institution has around 14,000 clients, 39% of whom are women, and manages a portfolio of € 11.3 million.
With these new investments, the Foundation now has 16 partners in 7 countries in the area, which represents an outstanding portfolio of € 16.6 million, that is 19.8% of the total outstandings portfolio managed by the Foundation as of end of October.
As of December 2017, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation recorded € 64.1 million in commitments, including € 57.5 million in funding to microfinance institutions and € 4.8 million invested in social business companies, up 45% compared to the previous year. In 2017, 44 funding projects were approved for a total amount of € 49.3 million. Since its inception in 2008, the Foundation has approved 250 funding projects for a total amount of € 196.5 million.
The Foundation expanded its area of intervention with new partnerships in Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Myanmar. It currently has 69 active partners and operates in 28 countries, 86% of them being among the poorest countries in the world. Forty-eight percent of the investments have been made in sub-Saharan Africa and 23% in South and South-East Asia, both geographical areas representing each 35% of the Foundation’s commitments at year-end. Women and rural populations represent respectively 76% and 81% of the 3 million customers served by the institutions funded by the Foundation, with an average loan granted to the customers amounting to around € 550.
In 2018, the Foundation will pursue its development in new countries by seeking to increase its network of partners whose common point will continue to be a high level of social performance, the financial empowerment of women and the economic development of rural areas.
