MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microcred Starts Microfinance Operations in Burkina Faso

The Microcred Group, a for-profit microfinance company operating under the umbrella of French NGO Positive Planet, recently started the operations of its new subsidiary in Ouagadougou. During the first 20 days, customers opened 1,260 accounts, mobilizing CFA 40 million (USD 68,000) in deposits. It also received applications for around 600 loans. In the future the organization plans to expand its range of products to include electronic banking, insurance products and cash-transfer services. The group received approvals from the Ministry of Economy and Finance Development to launch the subsidiary in April 2016 [1].

As of December 2015, Microcred Group reported total assets of EUR 379 million (USD 411 million), outstanding loans of EUR 312 million (USD 339 million) and client deposits of EUR 107 million (USD 116 million). As of September 2016, the group had 520,000 clients in eight African countries and China.

By Sharanya Madhavan, Research Associate

About Microcred

MicroCred Group is a France-based for-profit investment company that offers credit products, savings, insurance and financial services to the population underserved by traditional banks in China and Africa. MicroCred was created in 2005 by French NGO Planet Finance, which since has been renamed Positive Planet, and three investors: The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), Société Générale and AXA Belgium. Those founding shareholders were joined by the Agence Française de Développement and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2007 and by Developing World Markets (DWM) in 2008. MicroCred operates in China, through MicroCred Nanchong and MicroCred Sichuan, and in Africa in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. As of December 2015, Microcred Group reported total assets of EUR 379 million (USD 411 million), outstanding loans of EUR 312 million (USD 339 million) and client deposits of EUR 107 million (USD 116 million). As of September 2016, the group had 520,000 clients.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] Microcred: Microcred Burkina Faso is open for business

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