MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Disburses 3-year Loan of $1.1m to Sinapi Aba for Microfinance in Ghana

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently issued a three-year loan in local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.15 million in favor of Sinapi Aba Trust to support microlending in Ghana. The institution provides financial services through Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans (SASL) with the aim of creating development and income-generation opportunities for people with low incomes. Of SASL’s lending, 80 percent goes to women. Sinapi Aba Trust’s non-financial services include “capacity building training, youth development programmes, research and development, corporate relations, project management, and educational programmes.”

As of 2017, Sinapi Aba Trust reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 34 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 25 million disbursed to 138,000 borrowers, and total deposits of USD 21 million held for 267,000 depositors. The institution operates 44 branches.

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 with the aim of creating a “better-shared economy.” As of September 2018, GCA Foundation has commitments of approximately EUR 77 million (USD 89 million) outstanding to 73 partners in 34 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve 3.3 million customers, of whom 77 percent are women and 76 percent live in rural areas.

By Anuhya Tadepalli, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

Sinapi Aba Trust
http://www.sinapiaba.com/sat/

Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans
http://www.sinapiaba.com

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ghanaian Microfinance Institution Sinapi Aba Trust Provides Vocational Training to Youth
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ghanaian-microfinance-institution-sinapi-aba-trust-provides-vocational-training-to-youth/

Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation homepage
http://gca-foundation.org/

Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation 2017 Annual Report
http://gca-foundation.org/data/grameen/media/documents/Grameen-Credit-Agricole-Foundation-Integrated-Annual-Report-2017-.pdf

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at
https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/