January 2020 - Fondation Grameen Crédit-Agricole

First Foundation team seminar in 2020

January 21, 2020/0 Comments/in News/by Marie Laumont

As part of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation team seminar held from January 13 to 17, the teams had the opportunity to discuss various areas of the 2019-2022 strategic plan and the levers of action to optimize the Foundation's action with the microfinance institutions and social impact businesses it supports.

More efficiency for more impact

During the week, the Foundation's employees were able to put into practice the discussions held during the previous team seminar in 2019 around the three axes of the Medium-Term Plan: consolidating the Foundation's expertise and offering in favor of microfinance, strengthening the resilience of rural economies and promoting social impact in the financial sector.

Several meetings were held to present the 2020 outlook and the action plan to improve the Foundation's effectiveness and impact. In particular, a thematic workshop focused on three key issues for the coming years: digital impact finance and the Foundation's positioning in this sector, environmental performance, and measuring the Foundation's impact on funded organizations and end beneficiaries.

A workshop was also held with representatives from Plastic Odyssey, a social enterprise supported by the Crédit Agricole group, whose crew will sail the seas for three years to combat plastic pollution in the oceans. The Foundation will in turn partner with Plastic Odyssey to support their project to develop small-scale plastic waste reprocessing units in Africa.

A treasure hunt at the Arts et Métiers Museum was the team-building activity of the week, with the participation of Crédit Agricole SA's CSR team. These rich moments of exchange and sharing will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Strategic Plan, alongside Crédit Agricole Group entities, technical and financial partners, and supported organizations.

La Laiterie du Berger and Kossam receive USD 5M from the Mastercard Foundation

January 20, 2020/0 Comments/in News/by Marie Laumont

©Philippe Lissac

The Mastercard Foundation has just awarded Kossam a USD 5 million grant for the period 2019-2022 to enable Kossam and Laiterie du Berger to create 5,000 direct or indirect jobs in the Richard Toll region.

La Laiterie du Berger, the strength of African entrepreneurship

La Laiterie du Berger is an example of the power of entrepreneurship in Africa. The social enterprise was created in 2006 by Bagoré Bathily and a group of active shareholders, with the goal of promoting local dairy production. "90% of the milk consumed in Senegal is imported in powder form, while 30% of the population traditionally lives from livestock farming and can produce milk. This observation led to the creation of Laiterie du Berger," Bagoré Bathily tells us.

The dairy collects milk from Fulani herders in the Richard Toll area of northern Senegal to then produce dairy products using local, natural milk. The company works with 800 Fulani herders, employs 300 people, and produces 6,000 tons of yogurt each year. After 12 years of existence, with the support of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté, a second chapter has opened with the creation of a new subsidiary, Kossam SDE.

Kossam aims to structure the dairy sector in northern Senegal by promoting access to material resources for dairy production, providing training to farmers, and developing an innovative model of pilot "mini-farms." "More than 600 farming families have been impacted by the development of the local dairy sector, seeing their income increase by more than 50% between 2018 and 2019," says Jonathan Michaud, Director of Kossam, an agricultural engineer from Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté, who, after a "Solidarity Bankers" skills volunteer mission in 2018, left for two years to lead the project.

An unprecedented change of scale for the company

A new phase is about to begin for Laiterie du Berger and Kossam. Won over by Laiterie du Berger's social enterprise model, the Mastercard Foundation has just allocated a USD 5 million grant to Kossam for the period 2019-2022. The objective of this grant is to enable Kossam and Laiterie du Berger to create 5,000 direct or indirect jobs in the area. The allocated amount will be used, in particular, to increase milk collection to 4,000 tons and to promote the restructuring of the collection system. This financial support is particularly targeted at women, who are traditionally responsible for milk production and collection in Senegal.

This new project is called MéLiTeJi, the letters (M, L, T, J), which symbolically represent in Wolof milk (Meew), employment (Ligueey), success (Tekki) and women (Djiguen). This funding reinforces the company's objectives of developing livestock farming in a sustainable, responsible and social perspective and of building a sustainable Senegalese dairy sector, established on the basis of a modern and job-generating economy.

This grant is in itself a tremendous success that demonstrates the strength of this social enterprise model and the confidence in its potential for structuring the sector and creating jobs.

More information about La Laiterie du Berger here

Solidarity Bankers: a new mission to be filled in Bosnia-Herzegovina

January 14, 2020/0 Comments/in News/by Marie Laumont

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA, Solidarity Bankers is a skills volunteer program open to Group employees that supports microfinance institutions and impactful businesses. The program has a twofold objective: to enhance the skills of Crédit Agricole Group employees and to provide additional support to the Foundation's partner microfinance institutions and businesses. Through this program, the Crédit Agricole Group reaffirms its commitment to supporting employee solidarity initiatives.

What are Solidarity Bankers?

Volunteer missions abroad are offered to employees on behalf of microfinance institutions or social enterprises, partners of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation.

The missions are carried out through sponsorship or skills-based volunteering. Airfare and insurance are covered by Crédit Agricole SA. Any internal transportation costs, catering, and accommodation expenses are paid by the beneficiary organization. The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation will prepare and coordinate the mission.

Since the launch of the program in 2018, thirteen missions have been carried out, both in sponsorship and skills-based volunteering.

A mission to be filled!

A mission in the IT sector is available for Partner Microcredit Foundation, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from mid-March to mid-May 2020.

Partner Microcredit Foundation is a non-profit microcredit organization located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded by Mercy Corps in 1997 as an NGO, it became a microcredit foundation in 2000. It provides financial services to economically active populations who have limited or no access to financing sources to develop their businesses and improve their living conditions. The institution provides loans through a methodology of individual technical support and microcredit, primarily to micro-entrepreneurs, promotes the participation of women in the business world, and provides easier access to financial services in rural areas.

Mission objectives:

Assessment of existing IT infrastructure, organizational structure and applications used.
Development of guidelines for the future development of IT infrastructure and applications.
Recommendations for a 3-5 year IT investment plan and specific recommendations for 2020.

Contact

Carolina HERRERA
Director of Communications & Partnerships
carolina.herrera@credit-agricole-sa.fr