Travel diary of a solidarity banker in Kenya

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By Eva Hoglund, Financial Director at EFL (Poland)

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA in 2018, Solidarity Bankers is a skills-based volunteer program open to all Crédit Agricole Group employees in support of microfinance institutions or impact businesses supported by the Foundation. Discover the opinion piece by Eva Höglund, a Solidarity Banker at Crédit Agricole who went to Kenya in 2019 to support Musoni, a microfinance institution funded by the Foundation.

The beginning of the adventure

When I discovered the Solidarity Bankers mission for the microfinance institution Musoni in Kenya, it was immediately obvious to me: this mission was made for me. The objective of the mission was to support Musoni in setting up a strategic planning and monitoring system. Not only was it a wonderful mission of solidarity and sharing, in a country I was unfamiliar with, but I also had the impression that the qualities sought and the desired experience were a description of my own professional background. I immediately gathered as much information as possible about Musoni and the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation.

Shortly after applying, I received confirmation that my application had been accepted, and I immediately began preparing for my mission. The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation team was truly supportive during this initial phase: together, we established the mission's objectives and agenda. This was followed by a review of Musoni's presentation documents and strategic plan.

During the summer preceding the mission, I also had numerous discussions and conference calls with Musoni to ensure a good sharing of objectives and a common vision of the working method to be followed. In my view, excellent preparation is essential, and this phase was the key to the success of my mission.

Heading to Kenya

On October 26, 2019, I departed for Kenya for a 15-day field mission. I was leaving for a mission that aligned with my skills and knowledge of the microfinance sector, but in a structure and cultural context different from my daily life. It was therefore not without a little apprehension that I landed in Nairobi. The welcome from David Camara, an investment advisor at the Foundation, whom I had previously met in Montrouge, was reassuring.

On Monday morning, we began with the field mission launch meeting with the participation of all Musoni employees who would contribute to establishing the strategic planning and monitoring system. The presence of Stanley Munyao, Managing Director of Musoni, and David, representing the Foundation, was important to underline the importance of the project. Musoni gave itself every means to succeed by commissioning Amina Jaberney, a consultant who would accompany me during my stay in the field to ensure operational implementation once my mission was completed.

During the first week, Amina and I conducted interviews with Musoni management and agency employees. We compiled key takeaways and translated them into vectors consistent with Musoni's mission and vision. The second week consisted of validating and ensuring Musoni's adherence to the proposed strategic management system. To ensure that the mission was progressing according to expectations, we held steering committee meetings with the CEO every two days. On my last day in the field, we were able to present a complete set of the system validated by Musoni management.

Back in Paris

Once my mission was completed, Amina took over with Judy Ndungu, Musoni's Human Resources Director. The final implementation meeting, bringing together all employees, was held on July 13, 2020. The performance evaluation of the 1er semester will be carried out on the basis of our work. What satisfaction!

I am very happy to have seized this opportunity offered by Crédit Agricole and the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. This mission will remain an unforgettable experience. It allowed me to experience firsthand how a microfinance company operates in a rapidly evolving market. I met some wonderful people, and I am proud of the results we were able to achieve together in such a short time.

Letter #36 to download here

The Foundation publishes Letter No. 36

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The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation publishes its Letter No. 36. This end of July marks the fifth month of the global health and economic crisis. All countries have been affected, but nonetheless, like the impact of extreme weather events, the health crisis is profoundly unequal in that it affects the most vulnerable populations the most.

Since the end of February, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation's teams have been mobilizing around several major initiatives. First and foremost, we established a rapid and ongoing dialogue with the organizations we support to understand the effects of the crisis, the measures taken, and their resulting needs. We then adapted our monitoring and analysis tools and our requests for information, particularly regarding business continuity plans and short-term cash flow plans. At the same time, we led an international coordination of lenders and inclusive finance stakeholders to act together, in consultation, to prevent any liquidity shock that would have destabilized the sector. Finally, we regularly published articles on the Covid-19 Observatory and on social media to share our analyses and inform stakeholders.

Five months into the crisis, we feel that this first wave has been well managed by microfinance institutions, all of which have demonstrated great professionalism. We would also like to highlight the remarkable support and attentiveness of our own financiers: the French Development Agency, Proparco, the European Investment Bank, Crédit Agricole and its entities Crédit Agricole CIB and Amundi. The sector's remarkable resilience has undoubtedly been strengthened thanks to these concerted and convergent actions between donors and microfinance institutions operating across the globe.

In this edition of the Letter, you will discover, among other things, the details of the International Coalition coordinated by the Foundation in response to the Covid-19 crisis and two projects that we launched during this complex period: the new website and the Foundation's first Impact Report.

We continue to monitor the effects of the health crisis with the greatest attention and our mobilization, on which you know you can count, is constant.

Download Letter No. 36 here.

The cooperative capital company, a model for the “world after”

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By Éric Campos, CEO, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation & Bagoré Bathily, CEO, Laiterie du Berger

The global shock of 2020 demonstrates the absolute necessity of rethinking our economic system. The health and climate emergencies leave no choice. Without structural change, the risks of social, political, and environmental tensions will become greater every day.

We are submitting for collective debate the idea of a socially different business model: the cooperative capital company., a company whose capital remuneration is shared between shareholders and employees thanks to a structure allowing employees to directly receive a portion of the dividends, in the event of distribution. The ownership of capital is a factor of exclusion of populations, particularly with regard to the younger generations, the workforce. If we wish to build a sustainable and harmonious future, it is crucial to resolve the issue of a fair redistribution of the value created by growth and therefore by the company.

Today, shareholders own the capital, while employees provide its exploitation. Their destinies are closely intertwined, yet no direct link truly exists between them. We believe it is possible to bring them together by establishing a convergence of their interests, thanks to new rules where employees become usufructuaries of a portion of the company's capital. Shareholders provide the funds, workers deliver the added value. And ultimately, everyone deserves their share.

The idea is there, it may seem iconoclastic but it is fundamentally realistic: that of a company whose dividends are now shared between shareholders and employees in a fundamental way by granting employees a share of the capital.

This is what we call a cooperative capital company. To become one, the company includes a special provision in its statutes that allows employees to receive a share of the profits in the event of dividends being triggered. It thus grants them the position of beneficial shareholder.. As for them, shareholders remain holders of the capital and are owners of the securities, with the difference that they decide to become bare owners of a specific portion of the capital, the yield value of which they transfer to the workforce. To do this, they accept a reduction in the nominal value of their share—for example, through a capital increase by issuing securities—and transfer the difference to those who "create growth," the employees. Idealistic? Surprising? Bizarre? No, far from it.

Of course, the shareholder-investor must bear a "cost." They are asked to pay a sort of "access ticket" to productive capital. But this is in no way confiscatory. Without losing ownership, they choose to invest in another form of value: people. Their bet is that, driven by stronger cohesion, the company will be able to grow better and increase its value in the long term. This is an entrepreneurial approach of dynamic reconciliation.

Such a system has many advantages. For employees, it clearly provides direct access to a new channel of value redistributed in a spirit of socially just cooperation. This is essential in a global context where the gap between the richest and the middle classes has continued to widen in recent decades.

For shareholders, there is an innovative role to be preempted here, that of making it possible to include the value of labor in the creation of capital wealth, thus giving investment an entrepreneurial and societal dimension beyond its financial purpose. It has been demonstrated that investments managed in environmental, societal, and governance terms (ESG criteria) have performance potential. And, above all, a future.

Finally, for businesses, particularly those whose projects are part of a corporate social responsibility mission, this represents a vector of resilience. They are putting themselves in a position to no longer consider employment as an adjustment variable, but rather to establish it as a legitimate and structuring gene. By agreeing to place shareholders and employees on the same level, a new balance, a promising dialogue, will be established. It is, in a way, the City entering the Company.

The cooperative economy has long represented a response to the excesses of the eras it has lived through. Its longevity is explained by its capacity for adaptation and hybridization. It has developed many branches. Our proposal is a current translation of this, a step aside, a bud on the tree.

The cooperative capital company goes well beyond profit-sharing and employee participation mechanisms, which consist of paying a bonus linked to the company's performance or representing a share of its profits. Cooperative capitalism acts on the cornerstone of the company, its capital, by co-responsibility of stakeholders. The employee collective rises to the rank of shareholder who, without losing its prerogatives, inscribes its governance in an approach of openness and convergence of interests. Transparency, in terms of social and environmental impact, is an imperative for the cooperative capital company: the measurement and control of so-called extra-financial performances as well as their publication will be the instrument.

In the social enterprises or mission-driven companies in which we work as managers or directors, we observe to what extent the concern for economic inclusion pushes the company to combine its interests with those of its ecosystem. This is true in many places around the world where we are involved, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa in contact with livestock farmers and agri-food sectors. Economic inclusion is undoubtedly a path to pursue to give human societies back the enlightened paths, the hope they need. There is no utopian idea in this, but the liberal and civic conviction that the world cannot be built otherwise than with and for each other.

Full column here

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Éric Campos is the Managing Director of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, a foundation specializing in microfinance and social entrepreneurship, and Director of CSR at Crédit Agricole SA. Bagoré Bathily is the founding Chairman and CEO of Laiterie du Berger, a social enterprise promoting the dairy sector in Senegal.
(Co-edited by: Julien Foulc)

The Covid-19 crisis: varying impacts depending on the size of microfinance institutions

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@Designed by pikisuperstar / Freepik

ADA, Inpulse, and the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation have partnered to monitor and analyze the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on their partner microfinance institutions around the world. This monitoring is conducted periodically and will continue throughout 2020 to gain a better understanding of how the situation is evolving. With this regular and in-depth analysis, we hope to contribute, at our level, to the development of strategies and solutions tailored to the needs of our partners, as well as to the dissemination and exchange of information between the various stakeholders in the sector.

The results presented in this article come from a second wave of surveys (1) jointly conducted by ADA and the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, with Inpulse choosing to join the initiative every other time. The responses were collected between June 18 and 1er July from 108 microfinance institutions (MFIs) mainly from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC-46%), Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA-29%), Asia (14%) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EAC-10%) regions, with only one MFI from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region being represented. This panel of responding MFIs is relatively diverse in terms of size, with 49% Tier 2 MFIs (2), 35% Tier 3 MFIs and 16% Tier 1 MFIs, distributed by region as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Distribution of responding MFIs by region and by Tier

MENA Tier 2

In summary:

This new wave of surveys shows that the crisis currently facing MFIs reveals their structural strengths and weaknesses specific to their size: the largest MFIs (Tier 1s) appear better equipped to withstand the financial difficulties caused by the health crisis and the epidemic containment measures, to take crisis management measures and to rely on the specific measures put in place by their local authorities. In contrast, smaller MFIs (Tier 2 & 3) are better able to offer non-financial services to their clients on their own to help them cope with the situation, and are keen to further develop non-financial services in the future. More generally, if they plan to launch new products or services, it is above all to meet the needs of their clients more than to remain in line with their strategy or reduce risks. Thus, while the largest MFIs seem more resilient in times of crisis, the smaller ones are not far behind and remain faithful to their strong social mission. It is also a real strength for these institutions, which must not be forgotten in favor of more autonomous structures in this period of crisis.

Larger MFIs are less prone to financial difficulties…

Since June, containment measures have been easing in some regions, including Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, operational challenges for microfinance institutions have decreased in these regions compared to May (3), while they continue to be felt in the Latin America and Caribbean region, where containment measures are still in place, and a larger proportion of MFIs therefore still face difficulties in traveling, meeting clients in branches, and thus disbursing loans and collecting repayments, as shown in Figure 2. For example, 76% of MFIs in the Latin America and Caribbean region report that their staff are experiencing difficulties traveling, compared to 23% of MFIs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 2. Operational difficulties encountered by MFIs by region

As explained in our previous article, these operational difficulties have repercussions on the portfolio and its quality for all MFIs. However, the financial difficulties they entail are not felt in the same way depending on the size of the MFIs. Indeed, the largest MFIs appear to be less confronted with this type of problem overall, with smaller proportions of Tier 1 MFIs reporting having difficulties repaying their financiers (12% compared to 22.5% for Tier 2 and 3 MFIs), having insufficient capital to cope with the crisis (6% compared to 29% for Tier 2 and 3 MFIs) or facing a lack of liquidity (12% compared to 29% on average for Tier 2 and 3 MFIs), as shown in Figure 3. Tier 1 MFIs thus appear better equipped than others to withstand the consequences of the crisis on their financial situation.

Figure 3. Financial difficulties encountered by MFIs according to their size

While the increase in the portfolio at risk remains the primary challenge for all MFIs, this increase materializes differently depending on their size. Thus, it appears less significant for Tier 1 MFIs than for others, as shown in Figure 4: only 12% of Tier 1 MFIs report that their 30-day portfolio at risk has doubled or more than doubled compared to the end of 2019, compared to 44% of Tier 2 MFIs and 57% of Tier 3 MFIs. Conversely, 35% of Tier 1 MFIs report that this indicator has remained stable or decreased, compared to 17% of Tier 2 MFIs and 8% of Tier 3 MFIs.

Figure 4. Evolution of the PAR30 of MFIs compared to the end of 2019 according to their size

…and more able to implement crisis management solutions…

In most countries, government measures have been put in place to help microfinance institutions better cope with the crisis. However, not all MFIs report benefiting from them. While the use of these measures varies by region, most likely due to varying communication and implementation across countries (for example, MFIs in the Asian region are relatively more likely to report benefiting from a number of measures), geographic location does not appear to be the only factor determining the benefit of certain government measures: larger MFIs are also more likely to benefit from them, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Government measures that MFIs report benefiting from, by size

This "size" effect is real insofar as it cannot be explained by a specific distribution of MFIs by region. For example, regarding the deferral or cancellation of tax payments and the non-provision of loans affected by Covid-19, analysis by region shows that MFIs in Asia are relatively more numerous in reporting benefiting from them, while Tier 1 MFIs are in the minority in the region. Similarly, regarding the provision of liquidity lines, MFIs in sub-Saharan Africa are among the most numerous to report benefiting from them, while Tier 1 MFIs are very poorly represented.

Regarding operational and crisis management measures implemented, again the type of measure taken varies depending on the size of the MFIs (Figure 6): for example, 1,00% of the Tier 1 MFIs in the sample report restructuring client loans, compared to an average of 69% of other MFIs. They are also relatively more likely to have discussed with the supervisory authority the possibility of deviating from prudential rules during the crisis. Conversely, Tier 3 MFIs are less likely to have updated their liquidity plan or to have implemented new digital solutions.

Figure 6. Operational and crisis management measures taken by MFIs according to their size

…but small MFIs remain attentive to the needs of their clients

On the other hand, despite the challenges they face, smaller MFIs remain attentive to their clients' needs: for example, as many of them as Tier 1 MFIs have launched client surveys to better understand the impact of the crisis (Figure 7). On the other hand, while they have been less able to disburse emergency loans to their clients, they have, however, implemented more measures going beyond their core business to better meet their clients' needs in the face of the health crisis. For example, relatively more of them have launched awareness campaigns on hygiene issues or have made emergency kits available to clients. Larger MFIs appear to have been less inclined to establish these types of direct client services themselves and have relied more on partnerships with specialized structures.

Figure 7. Crisis response measures for clients by MFI size

Tier 1 MFIs are generally more likely to report planning to launch new products or services in the medium term; with less financial constraints as shown above, these MFIs likely have more room to maneuver in this direction (Figure 8). In particular, while overall few MFIs plan to launch microinsurance products in the future, Tier 1 MFIs are most likely to do so. They are also more likely to want to focus more on agriculture or launch new digital products and services. In contrast, smaller MFIs are just as likely to plan to implement non-financial services, whether financial education or business development services.

Figure 8. New products, services or markets that MFIs plan to move into in the medium term, by size

Variations between MFIs of different sizes emerge again when we look at the motivations of MFIs to move into new markets or develop new products or services (Figure 9). For example, among those that stated they wanted to launch at least one new product or service and specified their motivations (76 MFIs out of 108 survey respondents), the desire to meet new client needs and/or follow new market trends is cited relatively more often by Tier 3 MFIs than by others; conversely, fewer of them justify this choice by the fact that it is in line with their strategic plan or by the desire to reduce risks. The attention paid by smaller MFIs to the needs of their clients will probably be one of their strengths during this period of crisis.

Figure 9. Main motivations of MFIs to move into new markets, products or services, by their size

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(1) The results of the first wave of surveys with ADA partners, Inpulse and the Grameen Agricultural Foundation are available here: //www.findevgateway.org/paper/2020/06/beyond-difficulties-posed-covid-19-crisis-new-opportunities-are-emerging-microfinance
(2) Tiers are defined based on the value of total assets, with a total asset value greater than USD 50 million for Tier 1 MFIs, between USD 5 million and USD 50 million for Tier 2 MFIs, and less than USD 5 million for Tier 3 MFIs.
(3) See the results of the first wave of survey accessible via the link cited above.

The Foundation finances microfinance institutions in Mali and Romania

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© Philippe Lissac

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has funded two new partners, including one in a new country. With these two new partners, the Foundation now supports 83 organizations in 40 countries.

It thus granted an initial loan of FCFA equivalent to €1.5 million to Cofina Mali, a subsidiary of Cofina SA that provides inclusive financial services. The institution offers lending, savings, and money transfer services to micro and small businesses as well as individuals. It also provides training in financial education and business development. Cofina Mali has more than 2,500 active clients, including 28% women.

The Foundation also invested for the first time in Romania, in the form of a guarantee of an amount in local currency equivalent to 1.5 million euros granted to the microfinance institution VITASVITAS provides home improvement loans to nearly 2,000 clients, mostly small and micro-enterprises and individuals. Known until 2012 as Express Finance, it is now one of the leading players in the Romanian microfinance market. Its target clientele consists of people with no access to traditional banking services as well as low-income individuals. This financing is provided through a partnership between the Foundation and Crédit Agricole Romania to support Romanian microfinance institutions that serve people excluded from the traditional banking system.

See all supported organizations, here.

Impact of Covid-19 on refugee savings groups in Uganda

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VisionFund Uganda has been working in Obongi District since May 2019 and has disbursed US$92,000 to 100 savings groups, representing 2,264 individuals. VisionFund began training savings groups in Yumbe District in late 2019 but has not yet funded any groups. Savings groups have been operating in both districts for some time, and all groups have existed for at least two cycles (or two years). VisionFund Uganda is the first microfinance institution to offer loans to these groups. Between April and May, a study was conducted to understand the effect of the Covid-19 crisis on savings groups, both at the host community and refugee levels.

Savings Group Meetings

The majority (81%) of groups continue to meet; only 19% of the groups have stopped meeting. The main strategy has been to continue meeting (65%), but in smaller groups, in accordance with government requirements for social distancing. One explanation for the greater resilience of refugee groups may be that these groups received more support in their formation than groups in host communities. Almost all refugee groups are still saving (some are saving less), while 24% of the groups in host communities have stopped saving. The conclusion is that refugee groups have not only adapted to the new guidelines surrounding the organization of meetings but have also found ways to continue meeting, showing higher levels of resilience.

When asked about the group's future, of the 417 respondents, 65% plan to continue saving. However, it is worrying to note that 28% of respondents expect to stop saving, a figure that rises to 39% of respondents for host communities. It is therefore important to better understand what this means in the long term.

Impact on households

At the household level, challenges are evident on two fronts. 881 respondents reported an increase in staple food prices, putting pressure on household budgets. Nearly all refugees (961 respondents) reported an increase, likely reflecting the reduction in their WFP rations. Meanwhile, 921 respondents reported some level of financial stress due to reduced business activity (341 respondents), reduced income (231 respondents), difficulties saving (251 respondents), and food insecurity (111 respondents). It is relevant to conclude that all households are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but even if refugees are more impacted, they appear to be more resilient.

Despite these tensions, households are not resorting to increased demand for savings group social funds or selling their assets (87% did not have to sell any assets). In terms of requests to the savings group social fund, 58% groups reported no change in the number of requests (with little difference between host communities and refugees), but it is noted that among those who have used the social fund, the amounts requested are larger.

Commercial impact

Savings group members engage in multiple economic activities. Similar to other studies on the impact of Covid-19, 93% of respondents reported a decline in their income. More than half of the groups reported either a sharp decline in income (47%) or a complete cessation of income (11%). Interestingly, 6% reported an increase in their income, reflecting that business opportunities exist even during a crisis.

In conclusion, the following three points can be highlighted:

  • Refugee savings groups are resilient: The resilience demonstrated by these refugee savings groups (compared to groups in host communities) continues to support the view that the formation and support of refugee savings groups is a critical response to the development of long-term livelihoods for refugees.
  • Covid-19 is having a dramatic impact on the livelihoods of the rural poor: This survey, conducted in a remote part of Uganda, confirms that rural communities are just as affected by the Covid-19 crisis as others.
  • Surveys can be conducted safely in lockdown situations: Finally, this report shows that even in lockdown situations, the use of a simple digital tool and the implementation of social distancing guidelines can be quickly implemented.

For more information, Click here.

Grameen Agricultural Foundation becomes member of CSAF

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© In Venture

The Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF) is an alliance of social financiers, also known as priority agricultural impact lenders, targeting “middle sector” agricultural businesses in low- and middle-income countries, focused on creating a thriving, sustainable, and transparent financial market to meet the financing needs of smallholder agricultural businesses growing in target countries. CSAF members include AgDevCo, Alterfin, Global Partnerships, Impact Finance, Incofin Investment Management, Oikocredit, Rabo Rural Fund, responsAbility Investments AG, Root Capital, Shared Interest Society, SME Impact Fund, and Triodos Investment Management.

Its mission is to facilitate market entry and increase lending to agricultural businesses in the midstream sector, to steer the agricultural finance sector towards reaching and supporting the livelihoods of the world's 450 million smallholder farmers, and to promote responsible lending principles, including social, environmental, and corporate governance standards, across all financial institutions serving this market.

In June, the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation was unanimously accepted by CSAF's international members as its new international affiliate. The Foundation and the Board will work together in the coming years to strengthen CSAF and its efforts to build a growing, high-impact financial market serving agricultural businesses globally.

More information on the Foundation's mission here
More information on the CSAF here

AFD Group grants €10 million loan to the Foundation to promote microfinance

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© Philippe Lissac

A €10 million loan has just been granted by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group, represented by its subsidiary Proparco, to the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. This loan will enable the Foundation to expand its support for microfinance institutions, which provide assistance, primarily in Africa, to populations excluded from the traditional banking system. The AFD Group has also committed to supporting the Foundation with a €900,000 grant that will enable the implementation of a microinsurance technical assistance program.

Nearly 4 out of 10 adults worldwide do not have a bank account. That's 1.7 billion people excluded from the traditional banking system. This issue is at the heart of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation's work. For nearly 12 years, it has been financing and supporting microfinance institutions that serve populations excluded from the traditional banking system, primarily women (85%) and rural populations (82%), in some forty countries.

Supporting the Foundation since 2013, the French Development Agency Group is granting a loan of 10 million euros to the Foundation to strengthen its work in favor of small and medium-sized microfinance institutions based mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A €900,000 grant to support microinsurance

In Africa, the insurance penetration rate is significantly lower than the global rate. However, insurance is a lever for economic and human development. It has a significant impact on improving quality of life and protects human capital from certain risks, avoiding the need for emergency adaptation strategies.

Since 2011, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has supported microinsurance, notably through research activities and technical assistance projects for the institutions it supports.

Thanks to the €900,000 grant awarded by the French Development Agency Group, the Foundation will be able to develop its technical assistance offering in microinsurance to the organizations it supports.

“We share with AFD the ambition to contribute to the fight against poverty and inequality throughout the world. We are very proud of the trust the AFD Group has placed in us for many years. Thanks to this new financing, we will be able to strengthen our work in support of microfinance institutions, particularly in Africa. We will also be able to strengthen our capacity to support the development of insurance products and services, including agricultural insurance. This partnership will enable the institutions’ clients—low-income households, women, small farmers, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises—to better protect themselves and be more resilient,” said Eric Campos, Managing Director of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Director of CSR at Crédit Agricole SA.

"While the coronavirus crisis could jeopardize the activities of many African entrepreneurs, access to financial services is, more than ever, an essential lever for supporting the private sector and reducing inequalities. In this context, I am proud of the Agence Française de Développement's mobilization alongside the most vulnerable African businesses, particularly in the informal sector. This is the purpose of the partnership with the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, through which the AFD Group is continuing its commitments to financial inclusion. By enabling the Foundation to increase its portfolio of loans, capital, guarantees, and technical assistance to microfinance institutions, the AFD is acting to strengthen the African population, the most enterprising in the world," said Rémy Rioux, Director General of the Agence Française de Développement.

More information on AFD here
More information on the Foundation here

 

A Consortium to support microfinance in Africa in the face of the Covid-19 crisis

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© In Venture

In the economic crisis linked to Covid-19, the occurrence of a liquidity and/or solvency crisis is proving to be one of the main risks facing microfinance institutions. To address this, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), International Solidarity for Development and Investment (SIDI), and the ACTES Foundation are creating a consortium to better support the organizations they support in Africa.

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In April 2020, MAIN sent a questionnaire to all its members to assess their needs and determine what type of support the network could offer them. The results of this survey show that most of the institutions surveyed are experiencing difficulties managing their liquidity and are wondering how to continue to serve their clients sustainably in such a context.

It is within this framework that the Consortium was formed, which brings together the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, MAIN, SIDI, and the ACTES Foundation. The Consortium's objective is to provide the organizations it supports with risk analysis and management tools to better anticipate and manage the impacts of the crisis on their liquidity and solvency.

The Consortium will thus offer 50 microfinance institutions, including 31 partners of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, mainly in West Africa and East Africa, support on the theme of liquidity risk management and solvency risk. The targeted organizations are mainly small institutions (Tier 3: loan portfolio < 10 million dollars), very present in rural areas.

The support will take the form of a cycle of three online training sessions for each institution, workshops, and personalized coaching provided by Senbumo. In addition to liquidity and solvency management, the institutions will be trained on the topic of business recovery following the Covid-19 crisis. The program will begin on July 6, 2020, and will last for six weeks.

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation publishes its first Impact Report

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To better understand and share the results of its work, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is publishing its first Impact Report, a financial and non-financial assessment based on 2019 activity data. The impact assessment was conducted with CERISE, an independent firm specializing in impact measurement and social performance. This report aims to provide an objective and concise overview of the Foundation's contribution and its methods of action in favor of impact entrepreneurship and access to essential services.

Humanity is facing a period unlike any other in history. The crisis generated by Covid-19 has disrupted our societies, our economies, and our activities. In a world where inequalities are widening and low-income populations are disproportionately affected, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship are factors for improving the resilience of these vulnerable populations. These are the levers of action of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, which for nearly 12 years has contributed to reducing inequalities and poverty through financial inclusion and impact entrepreneurship.

Today, the Foundation is publishing its first Impact Report, produced with the methodological assistance of CERISE, a pioneering organization specializing in the promotion of responsible finance. It aims to provide an objective and concise overview of the Foundation's contribution and its methods of action. Defining its impact model, objectives, beneficiaries, and levers of action constitutes the first step in more actively managing the Foundation's impact and social utility.

Direct impact of the Foundation

The Foundation aims to create sustainable value by reconciling social, economic, and environmental impacts. Its value creation model is based on long-term support for socially successful microfinance institutions and social impact businesses that promote access to essential services. The Foundation promotes women's empowerment by promoting female entrepreneurship (85% women receiving microcredit through the organizations supported), primarily in rural areas (78% of microcredit borrowers live there). Sub-Saharan Africa (37% of its outstanding loans) and South and Southeast Asia (29%) are its two geographic areas of reference.

The impact of the supported organizations

The Foundation also provides technical assistance to funded organizations to strengthen their social and environmental performance. On the social side, the Foundation's portfolio is evaluated using ALINUS, a microfinance social performance management tool. In all areas evaluated, the supported microfinance institutions have performed better than the industry benchmark (with a score of 65% vs. 53% in the industry). In terms of environmental performance, monitoring is more recent but is progressing. For example, 84% of the supported institutions have established an exclusion list of environmentally hazardous activities, and 42% offer green products that finance ecological practices.

Finally, the Foundation leverages its impact through its partnerships with Crédit Agricole and other major development aid organizations. In 2019, the Foundation worked with 51 private, public, and solidarity-based organizations in some 40 countries.

In 2020, the Foundation will continue its impact measurement work with the operational deployment of tools and a field study to verify the robustness of its impact model. It will continue to write the chapters of its history in a more collective, more engaged, and more sustainable manner.

Download the Impact Report here

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