VisionFund Uganda has borrowed EUR 400,000 (USD 445,000) from the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, an NGO headquartered in Luxembourg that seeks to reduce poverty by providing funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other social businesses. Established in 2012, VisionFund Uganda is a microlending unit of VisionFund International, which, in turn, is owned by World Vision International, a US-based NGO active in “humanitarian aid, development and advocacy.”
VisionFund Uganda operates 23 branches in Uganda, serving 45,000 customers, most of whom are women and nearly all of whom live in rural areas. As of March 2022, it has a loan portfolio of EUR 6.1 million (USD 6.8 million). Among the organization’s activities is serving refugees and host communities near Uganda’s borders with Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
VisionFund International provides microfinance services in 28 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The organization holds USD 57 million in client deposits as of the close of its 2020 fiscal year and a gross loan portfolio of USD 447 million as of January 2022. It serves 1 million clients, mostly women living in rural areas. In addition to loans, VisionFund International provides savings products, insurance services, financial education and training in business skills. World Vision is a US-based Christian relief and development organization that brought in revenue of USD 1.2 billion during 2020 and is active in approximately 100 countries.
Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, established GCA Foundation in 2008. 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 Adhya Singh, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCAF press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-foundation-grants-7-new-financings-in-subsaharan-africa
GCAF profile on VisionFund Uganda
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/vision-fund-uganda-2/
VisionFund Uganda webpage
https://www.visionfund.org/where-we-work/africa/uganda
World Vision financials
https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2
GCAF homepage
https://www.gca-foundation.org/
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