MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Grants €1m to Microfinance Institution MicroCred Nigeria

Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s public development-finance institution, has granted EUR 1 million (USD 1.3 million) to MicroCred Nigeria to help build capacity in Nigeria’s microfinance sector. MicroCred Nigeria, a Kaduna-based microfinance institution (MFI) launched in March 2010, is the fifth MFI subsidiary founded by MicroCred Group, a France-based investment company that creates commercial MFIs. Mr Jean-Michel Dumond, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, said the grant would cover the organization’s permanent and short-term technical assistance needs during the first two years of its operations. MicroCred Nigeria will offer clients both loans and savings services and aims to have 50 branches and more than 400 employees in at least three states by 2014.

Speaking about the grant, Mr Dumond said, “By bringing suitable financial products to micro-, small and medium enterprises of Kaduna, MicroCred Nigeria will favour job creation and economic growth in the country.”

By: Christine Chang, Research Associate

About MicroCred Group:

MicroCred Group is a France-based investment company that creates commercial microfinance institutions (MFIs) and provides technical assistance to those institutions. MicroCred Group was created in 2005 by PlaNet Finance and three partner investors: the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Société Générale and AXA Belgium. The founding shareholders were joined by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2007 and Developing World Markets (DWM) in 2008. The group has set up MFIs in Mexico, Madagascar, Senegal, China and Nigeria and has 39,661 active borrowers with a loan portfolio of EUR 24.2 million (USD 32.4 million).

About Agence Française de Développement (AFD):

Established in 1941, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is a public development finance institution working on behalf of the French Government. Its mandate is to finance development according to France’s Overseas Development Assistance policies. In 2007, AFD committed over EUR 3.5 billion (USD 4.7 billion) to more than 60 developing countries.

Additional Resources:

allAfrica.com: France Boosts Country’s Micro Finance Sector, March 19, 2010: http://allafrica.com/stories/201003190769.html

MicroCred Group Press Release: MicroCred Group officially launches operations in Kaduna, March 15, 2010: http://www.microcredgroup.com/documents/EN/PR_MCng_160310_operations_EN.pdf

MicroCapital Universe: MicroCred Group: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=MicroCred

MicroCapital Universe: Agence Française de Développement: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Agence+Francaise+de+Developpement+%28AFD%29

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