The Malawi-based unit of the UK’s Microloan Foundation (MLF) recently partnered with two Luxembourgish NGOs, the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation and ADA (Appui au Développement Autonome), to boost its services to female smallholder farmers by creating digital loan, savings and transfer products tailored to their needs. A total of 17,000 women are to be trained in using the new products with the aim of increasing their access to financial services that increase the productivity of their farms. The effort is part of the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling (SSNUP) program, which also operates elsewhere in Africa and Asia, providing technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other organizations that support smallholder farmers.
As of 2022, MLF Malawi serves 40,000 female borrowers, 80 percent of whom live in rural areas, with a loan portfolio of EUR 4.6 million (USD 5 million). The institution has 17 branches employing 105 people. MLF also has affiliates in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Established in 1994, ADA supports inclusive finance institutions in their efforts to help the 2.5 billion adults outside of the conventional financial system to reach their goals. The NGO reports a 12-month budget of approximately EUR 15 million (USD 16.4 million) as of 2023.
GCA Foundation was founded in 2008 by Credit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The foundation provides funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other social businesses. As of 2023, it manages assets valued at EUR 89 million (USD 97 million), invested in 62 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia.
By Ben Barba, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#ssnup-program-supporting-mlf-malawi-to-develop-agricultural-mobile-money-services
MLF Malawi description
https://www.microloanfoundation.org.uk/our-work/where-we-work/malawi/
SSNUP description
https://www.gca-foundation.org/assistance-technique/ssnup/
ADA homepage
https://www.ada-microfinance.org/
Previous MicroCapital article on MLF Malawi and GCA Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-lending-microloan-foundation-mlf-292k-in-local-currency-for-microfinance-in-rural-malawi/
Previous MicroCapital article on ADA
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ada-belgian-raiffeisen-foundation-cerise-launch-interface-integrating-spi-4-mfi-factsheet-on-microfact-website/
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