The Foundation makes a new investment in SFA

© Philippe Lissac

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has signed a new financing agreement with Sénégalaise des Filières Alimentaires (SFA), a partner of the Foundation since 2013, in the form of an equity investment. With this new equity investment of €137,000, the Foundation is strengthening its support for SFA, a social enterprise that is developing an inclusive value chain based on the production and marketing of rice.

The SFA encourages the production of quality rice by smallholder farmers in the Senegal River Valley through a long-term partnership. It provides them with access to financing and technical support. The paddy is processed into white rice and sold on the Senegalese market under the Terral brand. The SFA thus contributes to Senegal's goal of self-sufficiency, which still imports 751,000 tons of the rice it consumes.

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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 nearly 40 countries.

The Foundation funds a new partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina

©Philippe Lissac/GODONG

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation continues to expand its activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the signing of a new partnership with the microfinance institution Partner Microcredit Organization (Partner), to which it has granted an initial loan of €2 million over a period of three years.

Partner is a multi-ethnic organization founded by Mercy Corps in 2000. It was the first microfinance institution to operate in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. Partner, one of the country's leading microfinance institutions, provides a range of business, agricultural, and housing loans through a network of approximately 30 branches. To date, the institution has over 40,000 clients, including 42% women and 87% rural clients, and manages a portfolio of nearly €70 million.

With this new partnership, the Foundation has three partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 16 partners in the Eastern Europe / Central Asia region, which represents nearly 20% of partners and 26% of outstanding loans monitored by the Foundation at the end of October 2019.

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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 SA 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 nearly 40 countries.