MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Babyloan, Total Partner to Develop Crowdfunding Platform to Offer Microfinance for Solar Energy Equipment in Africa, Asia, Latin America

Babyloan, a French online microfinance intermediary that works in both developed and developing countries, and Total, a French energy company, recently announced plans to develop a joint crowdfunding platform that will seek to “accelerate access to energy” in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The platform is expected to be launched in Haiti and Peru during early 2016, and it is anticipated that it will facilitate the funding of 2,000 microenterprises in approximately 12 countries by 2017 [2].

The money raised on the platform from individual lenders will be redistributed to microfinance institutions (MFIs). The MFIs will provide microcredits ranging from EUR 500 (USD 530) to EUR 2,500 (USD 2,652) to entrepreneurs allowing them to purchase solar equipment to grow their businesses [2,3].  

As of November 2015, Babyloan had approximately 37,000 members who had loaned EUR 11.7 million (USD 12.5 million) to finance approximately 25,000 projects in 19 countries since 2008. As of September 2015, Total reported total assets of USD 229 billion.

By Caroline Zhu, Research Associate

About Babyloan

Launched in 2008, Babyloan is a French online microfinance intermediary. Babyloan facilitates lending to microentrepreneurs in developed and developing countries by raising loans from individuals and on-lending the funds to its partner microfinance institutions (MFIs). The website was founded by Arnaud Poissonier, former Merrill Lynch banker, and Aurelie Duthoit, a microfinance professional. As of November 2015, Babyloan had a membership of approximately 37,000 individuals who have loaned EUR 11.7 million (USD 12.5 million) to finance approximately 25,000 projects in 19 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

About Total

Total is a France-based energy company that operates in 130 countries. Total’s business lines include crude oil and natural gas exploration and production, power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. As of September 2015, Total reported total assets of USD 229 billion.

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Babyloan

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Total Press Release, “Babyloan and Total Team Up to Create the First Ever Crowdfunding Platform Dedicated to Access to Energy”, http://www.total.com/en/media/news/press-releases/babyloan-and-total-team-create-first-ever-crowdfunding-platform-dedicated-access-energy

[2] La Croix news, “Avec Babyloan, Total se met au financement participatif”, http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Economie-Entreprises/Economie/Avec-Babyloan-Total-se-met-au-financement-participatif-2015-10-26-1373022

[3] Option Finance news, “Total et Babyloan lancent une plateforme dédiée à l’accès à l’énergie”, http://www.optionfinance.fr/actualites/actualites-generales/detail/total-et-babyloan-lancent-une-plateforme-dediee-a-lacces-a-lenergie.html

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