Solidarity Cents 2019: Employees commit to impactful entrepreneurship

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© Sébastien Proust

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Crédit Agricole SA, and CA Centre-est, Centimes solidaires aims to finance entrepreneurial projects by mobilizing employees. On November 4, Rania, an entrepreneur and Syrian refugee supported through the initiative, shared her experience at a launch event on the Montrouge Campus.

An exceptional meeting

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Crédit Agricole SA and Crédit Agricole Centre-est are continuing the Solidarity Centimes operation, which will take place from November 18 to 22 on the Montrouge, Saint-Quentin and Lyon campuses.

To launch the 2019 edition of the initiative, Crédit Agricole welcomed Rania, an entrepreneur and Syrian refugee supported through the initiative, to the Montrouge Campus on November 4. After leaving Syria and thanks to the Entrepreneurs du Monde ICI (Incubation, Creation, Inclusion) Project, funded through Centimes Solidaires, Rania was able to create her own catering service to showcase the traditional cuisine of her country.

In 2019, the operation changes scale!

Launched in 2018, Centimes solidaires aims to finance entrepreneurial projects by mobilizing Crédit Agricole employees who are invited to donate 50 cents when paying for their meal in collective restaurants.

Thanks to the support of Crédit Agricole employees, €7,000 was donated to Entrepreneurs du Monde in 2018 to fund the ICI Project, which supports entrepreneurship projects for refugees, single parents, and homeless people in Lyon. A total of 20 group training sessions were organized, enabling the program team to train 18 people in entrepreneurship.

This year, the beneficiary of the initiative will once again be Entrepreneurs du Monde. The initiative will run concurrently at the Crédit Agricole campuses in Montrouge, Saint-Quentin, and Lyon from November 18 to 22. Crédit Agricole SA, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, and Crédit Agricole Centre-Est will join forces with their employees to contribute to the fundraising. Entrepreneurs du Monde aims to reach a greater number of beneficiaries in the coming years, with a total of 40 project leaders by the end of 2019 and 50 in 2020.

Watch the video of the operation, which presents Rania's journey and the testimonies of the employees who participated in the operation.

More information: carolina.herrera@credit-agricole-sa.fr

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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.

Two Foundation partners obtain Smart Certification

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© Philippe Lissac

In 2019, the Smart Campaign recognized the client protection efforts of several Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation partners by awarding them Smart Certification. The Smart Campaign is a global initiative that aims to integrate client protection principles into the financial inclusion sector. The Smart Campaign's Client Protection Certification program publicly recognizes institutions that provide financial services to low-income households and whose treatment standards meet the Smart Campaign's seven client protection principles. These principles cover important areas such as pricing, transparency, fair and respectful treatment, and the prevention of over-indebtedness.

The certification program includes a set of rigorous standards against which institutions are assessed by independent third-party assessors accredited by the Smart Campaign. The assessors are specialized rating agencies with extensive experience and have analyzed hundreds of institutions to date.

In 2019, in addition to the work of Chamroeun, a partner of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation since 2010, this initiative also publicly recognized the work of two other microfinance institutions, partners of the Foundation, in terms of client protection by granting them Certification: Musoni (Kenya) and Salym Finance (Kyrgyzstan). These institutions thus joined the nearly 120 other organizations specializing in financial inclusion, in more than 40 countries, certified since the launch of the program in January 2013.

For more information on the Foundation's partners, click here. 

Exceptional meeting: Rania, entrepreneur and Syrian refugee

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© Sébastien Proust

To launch the 2019 edition of Centimes solidaires, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Crédit Agricole SA and CA Centre-est are welcoming Rania, an entrepreneur and Syrian refugee supported through the operation, to the Montrouge Campus on November 4.

After leaving Syria and thanks to Entrepreneurs du Monde's ICI (Incubation, Creation, Inclusion) project, funded through Centimes Solidaires, Rania was able to create her own catering service to showcase her country's traditional cuisine. Come chat with Rania and sample her culinary specialties.

Solidarity cents

Launched in 2018 by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, Crédit Agricole SA and CA Centre-est, Centimes solidaires aims to finance entrepreneurial projects by mobilizing Crédit Agricole employees who are invited to donate 50 cents when paying for their meal in collective restaurants.

Thanks to the support of Crédit Agricole employees, €7,000 was donated to Entrepreneurs du Monde in 2018 to finance the ICI Project, which supports entrepreneurship projects for refugees, single parents, and homeless people in Lyon.

This year, the beneficiary of the initiative will once again be Entrepreneurs du Monde. The initiative will run concurrently at the Crédit Agricole campuses in Montrouge, Saint-Quentin, and Lyon from November 18 to 22.

This event is reserved for Crédit Agricole Group employees. To register, please contact carolina.herrera@credit-agricole-sa.fr

[Interview] Climate change and microfinance

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© Didier Gentilhomme

On the occasion of the African Microfinance Week (AMW) in Ouagadougou, the FinDev portal asked Eric Campos, General Delegate of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and CSR Director of Crédit Agricole SA, a few questions about the adaptation of microfinance institutions to climate change.

How can inclusive finance contribute to achieving the SDGs in Africa?

Inclusive finance is a voluntary approach by the financial sector that aims to create a positive social impact, while ensuring the creation of financial value to make this approach sustainable. Microfinance, when it is socially efficient, is an instrument of inclusive finance. But this can also be true for the traditional banking sector, which can seek to combine financial profitability of the resources implemented and social impact. Inclusive microfinance helps promote access to financing for populations traditionally excluded from the banking sector. As such, it supports the consumption level of low-income populations, often informal, and sometimes relatively more vulnerable (rural populations, women, young people looking for work) and allows them to build up some capital. When this financing supports the development of small businesses, they create growth, boost employment, and stimulate the local economy.

What is the role of MFIs in the face of climate change, particularly in Africa, a continent particularly vulnerable to these upheavals?

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has highlighted the extreme urgency of supporting the adaptation of these small farms to climate change. Farmers, nomadic herders, fishermen, and small foresters all depend on activities that are closely and inextricably linked to the climate. The negative effects on food security are worsening, and can even become catastrophic in certain particularly vulnerable locations. Strengthening the resilience of small-scale family farming in the face of disrupted operating conditions is therefore urgent. The African continent is the most exposed to this, as of the 178 million insured farmers worldwide, only 0.25% are African.
In the face of climate change, access to financial services is essential because it helps support the stability of agricultural activities when MFIs manage to reach farmers in rural areas. However, it is clear that the challenges remain colossal. Heavy investments are needed to improve agricultural productivity, develop rural infrastructure, and enable the establishment of agricultural processing companies and agro-industrial activities. In rural areas, microfinance remains too isolated a tool and, due to the lack of an ecosystem to support the modernization of agriculture, is not yet up to the challenges facing the continent.

In particular, how can MFIs support rural populations and small producers?

While these farmers should ideally have adequate financial security and good livelihoods, they instead lead lives filled with daily struggles. They face limited access to agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, water, agrochemicals, agricultural tools and machinery) and markets. They now regularly experience unexpected weather events affecting their production, and therefore their income, without insurance protection. Faced with the devastating effects of climate change, farmers are often helpless.
MFIs are often the only recourse for farmers to finance their operating needs. They offer a variety of financial products that seek to adapt to rural activities. When MFIs are socially engaged, they also offer "on-the-ground support" that enhances their effectiveness (workshops, field visits and risk assessments, advice on purchasing raw materials, etc.). The microfinance sector therefore remains the only alternative to loan sharks in many rural areas. These institutions can also offer agricultural insurance products, but the cost, unfortunately, remains beyond the reach of village-based agriculture, which is predominantly subsistence-based.

What concrete actions are being taken by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation on this issue in Africa?

Rurality is the cornerstone of growth in developing countries. Rural areas have significant growth potential, but due to a lack of resources, they are losing their inhabitants, who migrate to areas with potential employment and settle in urban peripheries. This challenge of developing rural economies is also linked to the need to strengthen subsistence agriculture to address malnutrition in a context of exponential population growth, and to promoting the anchoring of populations around jobs in the agricultural sector.
The Foundation is a player in rural development. 40% of the funding granted is earmarked for sub-Saharan Africa, we are present in some fifteen countries, and the Foundation's funding policy primarily targets rural areas and women. Our principles of action are marked by the requirement to manage the social and economic performance of our partners. With strict eligibility criteria and a systematic analysis of economic and social performance, we promote responsible finance. But because the fight against poverty cannot be fought alone, we act alongside other committed stakeholders. With openness, commitment, and attentiveness, we call for the convergence of actions and agendas.

What are your expectations for SAM 2019?

The fight against climate change is a global issue in which we call upon everyone's responsibility. But the resilience of populations and economies is a local challenge that requires public and private actors capable, each within their own sphere of responsibility, of contributing to the modernization of territories. The SAM is a place for exchange, learning, information, and sharing. It is also a place where the coalition of goodwill is forged. Let us hope that this 2019 vintage brings us the optimism of will and the energy of inspiration.

Source: FinDev Portal

OSHUN, healthy water for all!

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OSHUN, a partner of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, is a solidarity start-up whose goal is to guarantee access to clean water for all, particularly in developing countries.

OSHUN was born from the alliance of three French companies, each a leader in their respective field, with the idea of adopting a social approach while maintaining the framework and rigor of entrepreneurship.

The Providence technology developed by OSHUN is unique. In addition to addressing the challenges of drinking water purification, Providence technology is energy-independent, easy to transport and maintain, connected in real time, and payable digitally at a fair price.

In Senegal, where the company operates, OSHUN produced and distributed 1,000,000 liters of water during the first year of activity, created 65 rural jobs in one year, 65% of which were held by women, and reduced waterborne diseases by 30% in adults and 80% in children.

Discover OSHUN in video by clicking here.

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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.

Chamroeun, a partner of the Foundation, obtains Smart Certification

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© Smart Campaign

The Smart Campaign, a global initiative to integrate customer protection principles into the financial inclusion sector, has publicly recognized Chamroeun, a Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation partner since 2010, for its customer protection efforts by awarding it Certification. The institution joins more than 115 other financial inclusion organizations in over 40 countries that have been certified since the program's launch in January 2013.

“We extend our sincere congratulations to Chamroeun,” said Isabelle Barrès, director of the Smart Campaign. “Its willingness to do the necessary work to prepare for and undergo the intensive assessment process is a testament to its deep commitment to its clients. The institution has shown that it is possible to achieve this goal in the area of client protection. Its example will catalyze a movement toward certification within the broader industry.”

The Smart Campaign's Customer Protection Certification Program publicly recognizes institutions that provide financial services to low-income households and whose treatment standards meet the Smart Campaign's seven Customer Protection Principles. These principles cover important areas such as pricing, transparency, fair and respectful treatment, and the prevention of over-indebtedness. The certification program includes a set of rigorous standards against which institutions are assessed by independent third-party assessors, accredited by the Smart Campaign. The assessors are specialized rating agencies with extensive experience and have analyzed hundreds of institutions to date.

Chamroeun has a long-standing commitment to protecting its customers. Prior to certification, the Smart Campaign assessed the institution's practices and helped develop the Campaign's tools to advance the industry.

For more information about Chamroeun, click here.

African Facility II: the Foundation and AFD together for microfinance in Africa

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© Philippe Lissac

Launched in 2013 by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and the French Development Agency (AFD), the Take-Off Facility for Agricultural and Rural Microfinance in Africa (African Facility) aims to support microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Following a successful first phase (2013-2016), with 16 partners funded and €6 million in loans disbursed, the second phase of the program will support 25 rural microfinance institutions.

With the Foundation's coordination, AFD's financing for Phase II is structured around three components: a €6 million loan for credit activity; a €2.2 million grant for technical assistance; and an ARIZ portfolio guarantee to cover 50,000,000 of the credits granted.

Phase II results

Phase II of the program already has 22 supported microfinance institutions (including 10 new ones), which at the end of June 2019 represent more than 400,000 active borrowers, including 70% women and 66% living in rural areas.

In terms of technical assistance, beyond missions related to strengthening financial and risk management, new themes have been integrated into the program, such as social performance management, microinsurance, digitalization, and green microfinance. In addition, 79 technical assistance missions have been launched. Furthermore, 29 microfinance institution managers received scholarships to participate in the Boulder training in Turin in 2017 and 2019.

Finally, all institutions have confirmed their participation in the Facility's Partners Forum, which will be held in October 2019 alongside African Microfinance Week in Ouagadougou. This will be an opportunity to take stock of the program's impact and strengthen ties between the supported partners.

Crédit Agricole's FIR Fund invests in Kazakhstan and Kosovo

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©Philippe Lissac/GODONG

In 2018, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation launched a social impact investment fund in partnership with CA Indosuez Wealth (Asset Management) and CACEIS Bank, Luxembourg Branch. This fund offers Regional Banks and Crédit Agricole SA Group entities the opportunity to invest in financing microfinance institutions operating in rural areas in emerging countries.

The Foundation is thus strengthening its support for institutions operating in emerging countries to benefit populations traditionally excluded from the banking sector, and more specifically women, who constitute the bulk of these institutions' clients. The benefit is twofold: a positive profitability objective and an impact in terms of financing income-generating activities.

Two new microfinance institutions have recently been financed by this Fund. A €1.5 million loan was granted in local currency to the Asian Credit Fund (ACF) in Kazakhstan. ACF offers financial services designed to promote rural household development, small business growth, and home ownership. To date, the institution has 27,000 clients, including 79.51% women and 95.91% rural clients. It manages a loan portfolio totaling €13.2 million.

The fund also provided a €1.5 million loan to the Kosovo-based institution KRK. KRK's mission is to provide access to financial services in rural Kosovo. A long-standing partner of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, the institution currently has 16,000 clients, including 15.21 million women and 60.51 million rural clients, with a portfolio of €38.4 million.

With these two new investments, the fund has 4 projects supported for a total amount of 5 million euros. As of September 30, 2019, with the confirmation of the participation of Centre Loire, 21 Regional Banks are investing in the Funds. The outstanding amount of the FIR amounts to more than 9.7 million euros thanks to investments from Crédit Agricole Assurance, Amundi and 21 Regional Banks (Alpes Provence, Alsace-Vosges, Brie Picardie, Centre-est, Centre-France, Centre Loire, Centre-Ouest, Champagne-Bourgogne, Charente-Périgord, Finistère, Franche-Comté, Ille-et-Vilaine, Languedoc, Loire-Haute Loire, Martinique-Guyane, Normandie-Seine, Provence Côte-d'Azur, Réunion, Savoie, Sud Rhône Alpes and Touraine Poitou).

Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation invests again in Central Asia

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© Didier Gentilhomme

During the first six months of the year, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation made new investments in Central Asia. It granted a new USD loan equivalent to €895,000 to the Tajik microfinance institution Humo. Humo is a microcredit and deposit institution whose main activity is to provide quality and affordable financial services to rural populations. To date, this institution has nearly 57,000 clients, including 421,000 women and 80,510,000 clients in rural areas.

The Foundation also granted a new loan to OXUS Kyrgyzstan for an amount equivalent to €708,000 in local currency. OXUS Kyrgyzstan is a microfinance institution that offers individual financing and group loans. OXUS clients work primarily in the agriculture and livestock sectors. The institution currently has 7,600 clients, including 551,000 women and 57,210,000 clients in rural areas.

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation currently supports 20 microfinance institutions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia with a total commitment of €20.1 million, representing €211 million of the Foundation's commitments as of the end of August 2019.

For more information: Supported organizations

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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.

The Foundation grants seven new grants in sub-Saharan Africa

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During the first half of the year, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation granted seven new financings in sub-Saharan Africa to long-standing partners. With these new investments, the Foundation brings its commitments in sub-Saharan Africa to nearly €41 million, representing €411 million of the Foundation's total commitments as of the end of August 2019.

In Benin, the microfinance institution RENACA received a loan in local currency equivalent to €762,000. RENACA is a mutual institution whose mission is to significantly strengthen the economic base of rural populations. To date, the institution has 27,000 clients located in 80% rural areas, including 59.5TP3T women.

In Kenya, the Foundation granted a new local currency loan equivalent to €2 million to the Musoni microfinance institution. The institution makes extensive use of information and communication technologies to manage its activities efficiently and adapt quickly. To date, the institution has 44,000 clients, including 66,313 women and 63,313 rural clients.

In Uganda, ENCOT received a new local currency loan equivalent to €296,000. This loan was granted under the African Facility, a program developed by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation in partnership with the French Development Agency to support small-scale microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. ENCOT is an institution that offers financial and business development services. To date, the institution has 6,200 clients, including 561,000 women and 88,410,000 clients in rural areas.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Foundation granted a €540,000 loan under the African Facility to the microfinance institution Paidek, whose role is to finance the development of small-scale commercial and livestock activities. To date, Paidek has 15,500 clients, including 511,000 women and 31,210,000 clients in rural areas.

In Zambia, the Foundation also granted a new local currency loan equivalent to €300,000 to the microfinance institution Agora Microfinance Zambia (AMZ), also within the framework of the African Facility. AMZ is a microfinance institution that specifically targets low-income people with appropriate financial products. It currently has 37,100 clients, including 581,300 women and 851,300 clients in rural areas.

Finally, in Senegal, the Foundation granted a loan to CAURIE Microfinance in local currency equivalent to €1.14 million. CAURIE's mission is to contribute sustainably to the economic and social advancement of microentrepreneurs. The institution currently has 72,200 clients, including 99% women and 55% in rural areas. A second investment was made in Senegal in the form of a stake in Laiterie du Berger for an amount equivalent to €99,700. Laiterie du Berger, in which the Foundation has been a shareholder since 2010, is a social enterprise that recycles milk collected from Fulani herders in the north of the country, transforming it into yogurts and other dairy products sold under the Dolima brand.

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