For the first time, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has invested in Moldova, with the microfinance institution Smart Credit, with a loan in local currency equivalent to 496,000 euros over a period of three years. Smart Credit is an MFI created in 2010 by five local professionals and whose mission is to position itself as the best microfinance service provider in the region, in particular for socially disadvantaged small entrepreneurs.
The institution offers loans according to the individual methodology and today has nearly 3,000 active clients, 54% of whom are women and 71% are clients in rural areas.
With this investment, the Foundation is consolidating its presence in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region where it already has 17 partners in eight countries. This region thus represents 21% of the portfolio monitored by the Foundation.
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Created in 2008, under the joint leadership of Crédit Agricole SA and Professor Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is a cross-business actor which contributes to the fight against poverty through financial inclusion and social impact entrepreneurship. Investor, lender, technical assistance coordinator and Fund advisor, the Foundation supports microfinance institutions and social enterprises in nearly 40 countries.