MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loans $1.65m to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK) for Microfinance in Kosovo

Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KRK), a microlender in Kosovo, recently borrowed EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.65 million) from the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. KRK, which GCA Foundation has supported since 2009, offers products including business and agriculture loans for micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) as well as consumption loans, renovation loans, and “green” loans to improve energy efficiency for private individuals. These loans range in size from EUR 200 (USD 220) to EUR 25,000 (USD 27,500), with terms of three months to five years.

As of 2020, 16 percent of KRK’s 17,000 clients are women, and 84 percent live in rural areas. The microlender has an active portfolio totalling EUR 41 million (USD 45.2 million) and 26 branches. KRK was created in 2000 by the Association pour le Droit à l’Initiative Economique (ADIE), a nonprofit microfinance institution in France.

ADIE was established in 1989 by Maria Nowak, based on the model of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. ADIE provides microloans of up to EUR 10,000 (USD 11,250) for small-business owners in France who lack access to bank credit. These loans are for starting businesses, developing businesses, purchasing vehicles or acquiring insurance. In addition to KRK, ADIE has contributed to the development of Action Finance Initiative (AFI) in Greece, MicroLux in Luxembourg, MicroStart in Belgium, and Taysir in Tunisia. The organization does not accept deposits.

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 December 2019, GCA Foundation had commitments of EUR 96 million (USD 107 million) outstanding to 82 partners in 39 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners serve 5 million customers, of whom 75 percent are women and 74 percent live in rural areas.

Sources and Additional Resources

GCA Foundation press release
http://gca-foundation.org/news/The-Grameen-Credit-Agricole-Foundation-continues-to-invest-in-Kosovo

KRK homepage
http://krk-ks.com/en/

ADIE homepage
https://www.adie.org

Previous MicroCapital Brief on KRK
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-loans-2-3m-to-kreditimi-rural-i-kosoves-krk-for-onlending-to-msmes-in-kosovo/

Previous Microcapital Brief on ADIE
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-institutions-adie-microstart-taysir-launch-free-online-training-for-microentrepreneurs/

Previous MicroCapital Brief on GCA
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-loans-1-7m-to-efc-zambia-provider-of-housing-microenterprise-loans/

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