MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $1.2m to Oxus DRC, DRC’s Hekima, Burkina Faso’s ACFIME

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has issued the following three loans: (1) EUR 630,000 (USD 732,000) over a two-year period to Oxus DRC, a for-profit MFI based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was launched in 2013 by the France-based Oxus Group; (2) EUR 271,000 (USD 314,000) over a three-year period to Hekima, a nonprofit specialising in providing group loans to “economically active” poor people in eastern DRC; and (3) EUR 198,000 (USD 230,000) over a three-year period to Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME), a microfinance institution serving low-income populations in Burkina Faso [1].

As of September 2014, Oxus DRC had 12,000 active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of USD 3.1 million. Oxus DRC is planning to provide deposit services beginning in 2015. Oxus Group was created in 2005 by the French non-governmental organization Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) to provide financial services to poor households. As of September 2014, the members of Oxus Group had a combined loan portfolio of USD 41 million outstanding to 44,000 borrowers in Afghanistan, the DRC, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. As of 2012, Oxus Afghanistan was the only one of the group’s MFI accepting deposits with USD 414,000 held for 9,000 depositors.

As of 2012, Hekima reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 2.9 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 1.4 million outstanding, with return on assets (ROA) of 2.25 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 6.36 percent. Hekima does not accept deposits. As of September 2014, the institution had 13,615 active borrowers, 86 percent of them women and 9 percent are located in rural areas.

As of 2013, ACFIME reported to MIX total assets of USD 2.5 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 1.2 million outstanding to 9,300 active borrowers, and total deposits of USD 750.000, with return on assets (ROA) of 2.22 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 5.12 percent. As of 2014, 10 percent of its clients are located in rural areas.

By Julia Marín, Research Associate

About Oxus Democratic Republic of Congo

Oxus Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a for-profit MFI in the Democratic Republic of Congo that was established in May 2012 as part of the Oxus Group, which is comprised of Oxus Holding, a France-based investment entity; Oxus Development Network, a consulting company that specializes in microfinance; and four microfinance institutions, one each in Afghanistan, DRC, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Oxus DRC provides loans between USD 50 and USD 6,500 to microenterprises and low-income households. As of September 2014, Oxus DRC had 12,000 active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of USD 3.1 million. Oxus DRC is planning to provide deposit services beginning in 2015.

About Oxus Group

Oxus Group is a French microfinance organization created in 2005 by the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), a French non-governmental organization (NGO). The Oxus Group consists of the Oxus Development Network, a consulting company that specializes in microfinance; Oxus Holding, the investment instrument the group created in 2007; and the following financial institutions: Oxus Afghanistan, Oxus Democratic Republic of Congo, Oxus Kyrgyzstan and Oxus Tajikistan. As of September 2014, the members of Oxus Group had a combined loan portfolio of USD 41 million outstanding to 44,000 borrowers. As of 2012, Oxus Afghanistan was the only one of the group’s MFI accepting deposits with USD 414,000 held for 9,000 depositors.

About Hekima

Hekima is a nonprofit institution stablished in 2003 in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that  specialises in providing group loans to low income population. As of 2012, Hekima reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 2.9 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 1.4 million outstanding, with return on assets (ROA) of 2.25 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 6.36 percent. Hekima does not accept deposits. As of September 2014, the institution had 13,615 active borrowers, 86 percent of them women and 9 percent are located in rural areas.

About Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME)

Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME) is a microfinance institution serving low-income populations in Burkina Faso. As of 2013, ACFIME reported to MIX total assets of USD 2.5 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 1.2 million outstanding to 9,300 active borrowers, and total deposits of USD 750.000, with return on assets (ROA) of 2.22 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 5.12 percent. As of 2014, 10 percent of its clients are located in rural areas.

About Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF)

The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) provides financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and social business projects. GCAMF was founded in Luxembourg in 2008 by Crédit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, and Grameen Trust, a nonprofit microfinance organization affiliated with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. In financing microfinance institutions (MFIs), GCAMF focuses on those that prioritize rural development, transparency, consumer protection and serving women. As of December 2013, GCAMF reported total assets of EUR 50.6 million (USD 63.3 million). Since its inception in 2008 through 2013, the foundation has invested in 35 microfinance institutions (MFIs), 11 social-business projects and one fund in 22 countries.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Information provided by Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation to MicroCapital, January 2015

MicroCapital, November 4, 2014,Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Invests $788k in Oxus DR Congo, $321k in Uganda’s Encot

MicroCapital, October 12, 2014, Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) to Loan $1.1m to FINCA Malawi, $580k to Réseau de Micro-institutions de Croissance de Revenus of Mali 

MicroCapital, October 9, 2014, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $609k to Juhudi Kilimo of Kenya 

MicroCapital, October 7, 2014, Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Invests $1.68m in Palestine’s Faten, in Azerbaijan’s Viator, in Bangladesh’s Grameen Danone 

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Oxus Group

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Oxus DR Congo

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Hekima

MicroCapital Universe Profile, About Agence Communautaire pour le Financement de la Micro Entreprise (ACFIME) 

MicroCapital Universe Profile, Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF)

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