MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation Loans $2.2m to Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves of Kosovo, $500k to First MicroCredit Company of Kyrgyz Republic

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned the local-currency equivalent of EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) to Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves (KRK), a Kosovo-based MFI that serves farmers and other rural microentrepreneurs. It also loaned EUR 449,000 (USD 499,000) to First MicroCredit Company (FMCC), a microfinance institution based in the Kyrgyz Republic. This MFI is operated by Switzerland’s Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM).

As of 2015, KRK reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 15.87 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 15.04 million, 7,700 borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 13.5 percent and return on equity of 42.6 percent. As of 2015, FMCC reports to MIX total assets of USD 11.2 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 9.45 million and 14,820 active borrowers. Neither microlender takes deposits. As of December 2014, GCAMF reported total assets of EUR 51 million (USD 57 million) and return on assets (ROA) of 6.6 percent. Since its inception in 2008 through March 2016 it invested in 46 MFIs, 13 social-business projects and one fund.

By Petra Barbu, Research Associate

About Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves

Kreditimi Rural I Kosoves (KRK) is a microfinance institution based in Kosovo. Formerly called the Rural Finance Project of Kosovo, KRK aims to assist farmers and other rural microentrepreneurs in restoring and developing agricultural production capacity through a sustainable, community-based rural credit scheme. The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based, government-backed microfinance investor that aims to foster regional development; Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden NV (FMO), a Dutch development finance institution; and Crédit Coopératif, a French cooperative bank; collectively hold 71 percent of KRK’s shares. The percentage of shares held by each of these institutions has not been disclosed.

As of 2015, KRK reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 16 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 15 million, 7,700 borrowers, return on assets (ROA) of 13.5 percent and return on equity of 43 percent. It does not take deposits.

About First MicroCredit Company, Kyrgyz Republic (FMCC-K)

Switzerland’s Aga Khan Development Network launched its microfinance programme in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2003. Three years later, the First MicroCredit Company (FMCC) took over these activities. The institution seeks to convert into a fully-licensed microfinance bank so it can take deposits. As of 2015, FMCC reports to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 11.2 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 9.45 million and 14,820 active borrowers. It does not take deposits.

About Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM)

AKAM is a Switzerland-based non profit development agency that is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). AKAM’s objectives include reducing poverty and the vulnerability of poor populations as well as reducing economic and social exclusion. The agency is governed a board of directors with His Highness the Aga Khan (the 49th Imam of the Ismaili branch of the Shia Islamic faith) serving as the board’s Chairman. AKAM has set up microfinance institutions in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, , Madagascar, Mali, Pakistan, Syria and Tajikistan.

About Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation

Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) provides financial services to microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other social businesses. GCAMF was founded in Luxembourg in 2008 by Credit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, and Grameen Trust, a non-profit microfinance organization affiliated with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. In financing microfinance institutions (MFIs), a GCAMF focuses on those that prioritize rural development, transparency, consumer protection and serving women. The foundation has been active in 18 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. As of December 2014, GCAMF reported total assets of EUR 51 million (USD 64 million) and ROA of 6.6 percent. Since its inception in 2008 through October 2015, the foundation has invested in 46 microfinance institutions (MFIs), 13 social-business projects and one fund in 22 countries.

[1] Information provided directly to MicroCapital by GCAMF

[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation

[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile: First MicroCredit Company

[4] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Kreditimi Rural Kosoves

[5] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

[6] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Aga Khan Development Network

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