The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation publishes its 2020 Integrated Report which traces the highlights and key figures of this year marked by the health and economic crisis linked to Covid-19. Thanks to close monitoring and collaboration with its partners and other players in the inclusive finance sector, the Foundation ended the year with solid results.
As of December 31, 2020, the Foundation followed an outstanding portfolio to €81.2 million in favour of 75 microfinance institutions and 12 social enterprises in 39 countries. Women entrepreneurship and the development of rural economies remain at the heart of the Foundation’s action: 73% of the 7.3 million beneficiaries of the institutions supported are women and 85% live in rural areas.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the Foundation has carried out surveys of the organisations supported to understand the impact of the crisis and better meet their needs[1]. The Foundation also initiated a global coordination with other actors around the key principles to protect microfinance institutions and their clients in the face of the crisis. To date, 30 donors, investors and platforms have signed the engagement of the Coalition.
Thanks to this permanent dialogue with its partners and peers, the Foundation has implemented several measures adapted to support the sector. It has thus granted rollovers to 29 partners, mainly microfinance institutions, for a total amount of €9.4 million. In 2020, the Foundation also supported the organisations through 93 technical assistance missions[2], on priority topics such as business continuity plans but also on issues such as digitisation which is essential for the resumption of their activities.
The Foundation was able to count on the support of its funders to strengthen its action in 2020. It obtained funding from Proparco, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Crédit Agricole CIB to establish a Covid-19 envelope and support the economic recovery of its partners.
In 2020, the Foundation also worked alongside the Crédit Agricole Group. Via a new cooperation scheme with Crédit Agricole Romania, new funding granted thought the FIR –A CA’s microfinance fund–, and a skills volunteering programme called Solidarity Bankers, the Foundation and Crédit Agricole have stepped up their actions for financial inclusion of the most vulnerable populations. A mission that will remain a priority during 2021 which represents a year of recovery.
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