The Foundation is strengthening its commitment to Central Asia by providing an initial local currency loan equivalent to €3 million to Arnur Credit, a Kazakhstan-based microfinance institution. Founded in 2001 by Orda Credit, a Kazakh MFI specializing in remittance transactions and business lending, Arnur Credit is registered as a limited liability company and is supervised by the Financial Market Regulation and Development Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Its mission is to help improve the quality of life of the economically active population of southern Kazakhstan by providing microfinance services.

Arnur Credit offers loans using the individual methodology. As of June 2022, the institution served 18,458 active borrowers (44 women and 88 rural borrowers) and managed a portfolio of €52.6 million. It operates in the southern part of Kazakhstan (particularly in Turkistan) through a network of 43 offices and 235 employees.

With this investment, the Foundation now has an outstanding portfolio of €25.7 million in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region and has 15 supported partner organizations, representing 24% microfinance institutions and impact businesses.

To learn more about our partners, Click here.

The Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA launched in 2018 the Solidarity Bankers program, a skills volunteering program accessible to all Crédit Agricole Group employees. This technical assistance program aims to support microfinance institutions and social impact businesses funded by the Foundation.

Andreas Brunner, now Inspection Supervisor at Amundi in Paris, carried out a field mission with the microcredit institution Oxus in Kyrgyzstan in October 2021, when he worked at Crédit Agricole Assurances.

Video experience testimonial:

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

OXUS Kyrgyzstan offers financial services to precarious workers and the underbanked in Kyrgyzstan. With approximately 10,000 clients, it operates in various regions of the country through a network of fifteen branches and 130 employees. Its headquarters are based in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The Solidarity Bankers program aims to support these stakeholders through technical assistance and to enhance the skills of the Group's employees involved in projects with a high social impact.

Denis Khomyakov, Managing Director of OXUS Kyrgyzstan, highlighted the positive impact of Andreas's mission: "Andreas met and trained everyone involved in the marketing process, from the CFO and COO to the loan officers and branch managers. The results are impressive, and we are now using the materials created with Andreas, which are perfectly adapted to our context. The mission was excellent and exceeded our expectations."

During the second half of 2022, the Foundation granted two new loans in sub-Saharan Africa, confirming its commitment to the economic and social development of the region.

A new loan for an amount in local currency equivalent to €457,500 was granted on November 28, 2022 to the microfinance institution ACFB in Benin. A partner of the Foundation since 2017, ACFB's mission is to facilitate access to financial services for low-income populations and micro-entrepreneurs. ACFB's social mission is to support the economic and social development of households, particularly women in rural areas. At the end of the second half of 2022, ACFB had a growing number of active borrowers (approximately 35,433), the vast majority of whom were women (94%) and clients living in rural areas (90%).

On December 1, 2022, the Foundation also granted a loan in an amount in local currency equivalent to €500,000 to VisionFund Uganda. This microfinance institution, established to support vulnerable populations and microenterprises in Uganda, offers financial services tailored to the specific needs of its clients. VisionFund Uganda emphasizes group lending methodology and, as of the end of the second half of 2022, had a significant number of active borrowers (approximately 46,761), the vast majority of whom are women (95%) and clients living in rural areas (60%).

To learn more about the partners supported by the Foundation, Click here.

The microfinance institution MLF Malawi has benefited from the SSNUP (Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling) program since the first quarter of 2023, coordinated by ADA (Support for Autonomous Development) and for which the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation was selected as one of the impact investors responsible for its implementation. This program aims to increase the productivity and resilience of smallholder farmers, particularly in Asia and Africa, through better risk management and the promotion of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices.

The two-year project aims to improve financing for agricultural activities carried out by producers in rural areas in Malawi through the development of agricultural loans and a credit rating system, the integration of mobile money transfer and savings services and the optimization of operational procedures.

The technical assistance provided by the Foundation within the framework of the program will strengthen the financial offer of the MFI through the training of 17,000 women farmers (operating in the sectors of corn, Irish potatoes, soybeans, rice, livestock, horticulture and
peanuts.) to digital finance to improve their digital literacy and encourage the use of banking services on their mobile phones. Trained in the use of mobile money, these 17,000 women will have easier access to additional financial services tailored to their business. They will have more confidence to carry out transactions themselves.

Malawi's economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector (29.5 billion of GDP), which employs over 80 billion of the population (World Bank). The population relies primarily on subsistence, rain-fed agriculture, which increases its vulnerability to climate shocks and creates food insecurity. Mobile money services promote the financial inclusion of women.

MLF Malawi, a partner of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation since 2018, is a microfinance institution (MFI) established in 2002 by MicroLoan Foundation UK, a charitable organization dedicated to microfinance in sub-Saharan Africa. As of December 2022, the institution had more than 40,000 active borrowers (100 women, 80 rural) and managed a loan portfolio equivalent to approximately €4.6 million.

For more information about the SSNUP program, Click here.