The Japan-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company recently invested JPY 2 billion (USD 18.6 million) in a “Microfinance and Gender Loan” scheme, which was arranged by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB), a member of the France-based Crédit Agricole Group. The funding will allow the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, “to support microfinance institutions focusing [on] women and social enterprises in rural economies of developing countries” over the course of 10 years.
GCA Foundation CEO Eric Campos stated that “Alongside Crédit Agricole CIB and Dai-ichi Life, we will step up our support for women[’s] empowerment through microfinance and female entrepreneurship. It is a real pride for the Foundation to be part of this innovative and unique partnership in the history of the Crédit Agricole Group.”
Dai-ichi Life was established in 1902 and is based in Tokyo. It offers life, property and casualty insurance as well as investment trust and related services. In addition to its presence in Japan, Dai-ichi Life has affiliates in Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Thailand, the US, the UK and Vietnam. As of March 2020, Dai-ichi Life reported a balance sheet of JPY 36.5 trillion (USD 338.9 billion).
Founded in 2004, Crédit Agricole-CIB specialises in capital markets transactions as well as investment and corporate banking. During 2019, the organization had net banking income of EUR 5.5 billion (USD 6 billion) from a total of EUR 132 billion (USD 144 billion) in assets under management. The organization employs 11,500 individuals, 44 percent of whom are women.
GCA Foundation was established in 2008 by Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. The foundation provides funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other social businesses with the aim of creating a “better-shared economy.” As of March 2020, GCA Foundation had commitments of EUR 101 million (USD 110 million) outstanding to 87 partners in 40 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners serve 5 million customers, of whom 75 percent are women and 74 percent live in rural areas.
By Jessica McLeod, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Direct contact with GCA Foundation
http://gca-foundation.org
GCA Foundation news release
http://gca-foundation.org/news/credit-agricole-and-dai-ichi-life-partner-to-support-microfinance-and-gender-finance
Dai-ichi Life homepage
https://www.dai-ichi-life.co.jp
Dai-ichi Life 2019 financial report
https://www.dai-ichi-life.co.jp/english/investor/financial/results/2019
Crédit Agricole CIB homepage
https://www.ca-cib.com
Previous MicroCapital news on GCA and Crédit Agricole CIB
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-ca-cib-loan-6-1m-to-fusion-microfinance-of-india/
Previous MicroCapital news on Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-ebrd-sells-dai-ichi-life-insurance-100m-in-microfinance-bonds/
Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
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