MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: The MasterCard Foundation Donates $12m to Microcred to Increase its Client Reach in Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Senegal to 1.2m by 2019

The Microcred Group, a France-based for-profit microfinance company and member of Positive Planet, recently announced it has been funded by The MasterCard Foundation, a Canadian organization founded by the US-based payments firm MasterCard, to launch a financial inclusion programme in Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Senegal.The Mastercard Foundation is contributing USD 12 million with the goal of expanding Microcred’s services to approximately 1.2 million clients in those countries by June 2019. Currently, Microcred has approximately 400,000 clients in those countries.

The programme will use a combination of technology and Microcred’s “Customer-Centric” methodology to create a range of financial products better suited to the needs of customers who may not previously have had access to or qualified for traditional financial products.

As of the year ending December 2014, Microcred Group reported total assets of EUR 313 million (approximately USD 346 million), outstanding loans of EUR 270 million (approximately USD 298 million), client deposits of EUR 86 million (approximately USD 95 million) and profit before tax of EUR 6 million (approximately USD 6.6 million). At April 2016, Microcred had 460,000 clients in eight African countries, China and Hong Kong. As of 2015, The MasterCard Foundation reported approximately USD 9 billion in assets.

By Imke Herholdt, Research Associate

About Microcred Group
MicroCred Group is a France-based for-profit investment company that provides technical assistance to and manages commercial microfinance institutions (MFIs) in China and Africa. MicroCred was created in 2005 by French NGO PlaNet Finance, an initiative of Positive Plant, and three investors: the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Société Générale and AXA Belgium. Those founding shareholders were joined by the Agence Française de Développement (French Agency for Development – AFD) 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, as well as in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. As of the year ending December 2014, Microcred Group reported total assets of EUR 313 million (approximately USD 346 million), outstanding loans of EUR 270 million (approximately USD 298 million), client deposits of EUR 86 million (approximately USD 95 million) and profit before tax of EUR 6 million (approximately USD 6.6 million). At April 2016, Microcred had 460,000 clients in eight countries across Africa, China and Hong Kong.

About The MasterCard Foundation
Based in Canada, The MasterCard Foundation seeks to enable people living in poverty to improve their lives with increased access to microfinance and education, primarily in Africa. The foundation was established in 2006 by a gift of shares from US-based payment processor MasterCard Worldwide during the company’s initial public offering. As of 2015, the MasterCard Foundation reported approximately USD 9 billion in assets.

Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Launch of the Mass Market Financial Inclusion Programme
[2] MicroCapital Universe Profile: Microcred Group
[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile: The MasterCard Foundation
[4] Microcred Group

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