26 April 2023

In 2018, the Foundation and Crédit Agricole S.A. launched the Banquiers Solidaires program, a skills volunteering scheme accessible to all Crédit Agricole Group employees. This technical assistance program is designed to support microfinance institutions and social impact businesses financed by the Foundation.

Andreas Brunner, currently an Inspection Supervisor at Amundi in Paris, led a field mission to the Oxus microcredit institution in Kyrgyzstan in October 2021, when he was working at Crédit Agricole Assurances.

Testimony of experience in video:

Andreas Brunner was tasked with working on two main objectives: developing an annual marketing plan and implementing a customer loyalty program for OXUS Kyrgyzstan. To do this, he had to produce two key deliverables in English. At the end of the first week, he presented a first feedback to the OXUS team to check if the direction taken was the right one. The feedback was very positive, and he was able to continue refining his proposals during the second week.

OXUS Kyrgyzstan provides financial services to the working poor and underbanked in Kyrgyzstan. With approximately 10,000 clients, it is present in various regions of the country through a network of 15 branches and 130 employees. Its headquarters are based in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The Solidarity Bankers program aims to support these actors through technical assistance and to enhance the skills of the Group’s employees involved in projects with a strong social impact.

Denis Khomyakov, General Manager of OXUS Kyrgyzstan, underlined the positive impact of Andreas’ mission: “Andreas met and trained all the people involved in the marketing process, from the Financial Director and Operations Director to the loan officers and branch managers. The results are impressive, and we are now using the documents created with Andreas, perfectly adapted to our context. The assignment was excellent and exceeded our expectations.”