MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends Local Currency Worth $1.5m to Yehu of Kenya, ASA Microfinance Rwanda

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has announced the disbursal of the following local-currency loans: to Kenya’s Yehu the approximate equivalent of USD 888,000 and to ASA Microfinance Rwanda in an amount approximately equivalent to USD 580,000.

Founded in 2016, ASA Rwanda provides group and individual microloans to approximately 18,000 low-income, female entrepreneurs, about half of whom live in rural areas. ASA Rwanda has a loan portfolio of EUR 2.3 million (USD 2.8 million). The parent company of ASA Rwanda is ASA International, which operates in 13 countries in Africa and Asia, primarily serving low-income female entrepreneurs with little or no other access to financial services. As of June 2021, ASA International operates approximately 2,000 branches, serving 2.5 million clients with an outstanding loan portfolio of approximately USD 415 million.

Yehu is a microfinance institution (MFI) that was founded in 1998 as a savings program of the US-based NGO Choice Humanitarian. It began lending in 2000 and became independent in 2007. Its loans can be used for agriculture, education, working capital and asset purchases. The MFI also offers insurance, training and mobile banking. Yehu serves 28,000 people, mainly in rural areas. It has a portfolio of EUR 6.8 million (USD 7.9 million).

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 September 2021, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 87 million (USD 103 million) outstanding to 81 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Approximately 84 percent of its investees’ clients live in rural areas, and 89 percent are women.

By Zachary DeLuca, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-foundation-provides-four-new-financings-in-sub-saharan-africa

Yehu homepage
https://yehu.org/

ASA Rwanda homepage
https://rwanda.asa-international.com/

ASA International homepage
https://www.asa-international.com/

GCA Foundation homepage
https://www.gca-foundation.org/

Previous Article on GCA Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-lends-3-7m-to-assilassime-solidarite-of-togo-agora-microfinance-zambia-amz/

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