A festive evening to mark the 10th anniversary of the Foundation
The event organised to mark the 10th anniversary of the Foundation brought together nearly 200 people at the Salle Wagram in Paris, and was an opportunity to celebrate the 10 years of the Foundation alongside the founders, Board members and partners of the Foundation. The Chairman of the Foundation Jean-Marie Sander opened the evening by reminding the origin of the Foundation and how, 10 years later with over €200 million of financings and 100 partners supported, the Foundation and its founders Crédit Agricole and Grameen Trust continue to act together in support of socially responsible finance.
Eric Campos, Managing Director of the Foundation and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Crédit Agricole S.A. assessed the Foundation’s 10 years of activity and its impact, highlighting the particularity of the alliance between the Foundation and a banking group with mutualist roots. The evening was organised around two panel discussions and speeches by two directors of the Foundation: HRH the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Jean-Michel Severino, President of Investisseurs & Partenaires.
Women and the Africas at the heart of the Foundation’s actions
The issue of women’s financial inclusion, a priority for the Foundation since its inception, was the topic of the first panel discussion. Soukeyna Bâ, former Minister of Senegal and Board member of the Foundation, Nejira Nalic, CEO of Mi Bospo, a microfinance institution supported by the Foundation in Bosnia, and Bagoré Bathily, Founder of Laiterie du Berger, a Senegalese social company of which the Foundation is a shareholder, discussed the importance of women empowerment as a lever for development. In her speech, HRH the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg also underlined the leading role of women in the microfinance and entrepreneurship sector, hoping for a more active participation of all financial actors in the fight against poverty.
The overview of the Foundation’s 10 years of activity was at the centre of the second panel discussion, which brought together Pr. Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Raphaël Appert, CEO of Crédit Agricole Center-Est and First Vice-CHairman of the National Federation of Credit Agricole, and Philippe Brassac, CEO of Crédit Agricole S.A. The founders of the Foundation reaffirmed their commitment to leverage the impact of the Foundation and better meet the new challenges of the fight against poverty. Jean-Michel Severino’s remarks then focused on development issues in Africa and the prospects of the inclusive finance sector in this plural continent.
2019-2022: An ambitious action plan for enhanced impact
Digital transformation, ecological transition and structuring of agricultural sectors will be at the heart of the Foundation’s actions over the next four years. With a target of €160 million of funding by 2022, the Foundation will continue to adapt by strengthening its expertise, expanding its fields of intervention and working in partnership. This is the message addressed by Jean-Marie Sander in his closing speech which was followed by a show of the Phare circus, a social company in Cambodia of which the Foundation is a shareholder.
The 10 years of the Foundation represent a magnificent project carried collectively. A new chapter has just begun in the history of the Foundation, collective, ambitious and committed.