The French microlending site, Babyloan, has facilitated EUR 592,000 (USD 807,200) in microloans to finance 2,150 projects since its launch in 2008. “We are not very big yet but our development in the first year corresponds to the big American sites,” said Poissonier.

By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Associate

About Babyloan:

Launched in 2008, Babyloan is a French website that facilitates lending to micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries. The site was founded by former Merrill Lynch banker Mr Arnaud Poissonier and Ms Aurelie Duthoit, a management school graduate who has worked in the microfinance field. As of February 2010, Babyloan had 5756 members who lent EUR 592,084 to finance 2150 projects.

According to its website, “Babyloan works as a refinancing platform and not as a direct financing system. It can happen that the MFI already ‘advanced’ the microcredit to the entrepreneur when you make the online social micro loan.”

Additional Resources:

Source Article: Reuters: “Microlending Site Makes Advances in France,” http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100208/tsc-life-us-france-microcredit-011ccfa.html

Babyloan: http://www.babyloan.org/Default.aspx?lng=en