MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $2.2m in Local Currency to ACEP Burkina for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

The Luxembourg-based Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation has announced it lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 2.2 million to the microfinance institution Agence de Credit pour l’Entreprise Privee (ACEP) Burkina. One of four members of the ACEP Group, ACEP Burkina provides financial services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in urban regions of Burkina Faso. The institution was created in 2009 and has nine branches, 228 employees and a credit portfolio of EUR 49 million (USD 53 million). ACEP Burkina serves 18,000 borrowers and 31,000 savings customers as of 2021.

ACEP Group owns stakes in ACEP Burkina, ACEP Cameroon, ACEP Madagascar and ACEP Niger. As of 2021, these institutions employ 1,200 people, hold an aggregate gross loan portfolio of EUR 107 million (USD 116 million), and serve 148,000 customers – of whom 40 percent are women.

ACEP Group was created by ACEP International, a private company whose ownership includes its co-founder Thierry Perreau; Investisseurs and Partenaires (I&P), a France-based investor in small and medium-sized enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa; and the government-owned BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries).

Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, established GCA Foundation in 2008. The organization seeks to reduce poverty by providing funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other social businesses. As of December 2021, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 78 million (USD 88 million) outstanding to 81 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Approximately 81 percent of its investees’ clients live in rural areas, and 90 percent are women.

By Vighnesh Avadhanam, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-foundation-grants-7-new-financings-in-subsaharan-africa

GCA Foundation profile on ACEP Burkina
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/acep-burkina-2/

ACEP Group homepage
https://groupacep.com/

I&P homepage
https://www.ietp.com/

BIO homepage
https://www.bio-invest.be/

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https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-lends-1-1m-in-local-currency-to-asian-credit-fund-for-housing-enterprise-microfinance-in-rural-kazakhstan/

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https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-fmo-loans-3-5m-for-microfinance-smes-via-acep-burkina-faso/

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