The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently issued loans of EUR 1.8 million (USD 2.0 million) to VisionFund Myanmar, a member of VisionFund International, and the equivalent of USD 367,000 to Phare Performing Social Enterprise, which employs youth from low-income families in Cambodia as performing artists.
VisionFund Myanmar was founded in 2015 and serves 190,000 people via 51 service locations as of 2019. VisionFund International operates in 29 countries with total assets of USD 688 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 494 million outstanding to 1.1 million borrowers. VisionFund International is owned by World Vision, a US-based Christian relief and development organization that had 2018 revenue of USD 1.06 billion.
Established in 2012, Phare Performing is a for-profit company that provides employment for disadvantaged youth in the performing arts and uses revenue from ticket sales for education and social services. The shareholders in the social business include Phare Ponleu Selpak, a Cambodian NGO with a 71-percent equity stake, and GCA Foundation with a 16-percent stake.
GCA Foundation was launched in 2008 by the directors of Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, and 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 promoting financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship. As of May 2019, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 82.2 million (USD 92.4 million) supporting 78 partners in 36 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve approximately 4.1 million customers, of whom 74 percent are women and 75 percent live in rural areas.
By Eugene DeCosse, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation press release
http://gca-foundation.org/news/During-the-first-quarter-the-Foundation-makes-three-new-investments-in-Asia
VisionFund Myanmar webpage
http://www.visionfund.org/2101/where/asia-pacific/myanmar/
VisionFund International homepage
http://www.visionfund.org/
VisionFund International financial statements
http://www.visionfund.org/2150/documents-and-reports/media/
World Vision homepage
https://www.worldvision.org/
World Vision financial statements
https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2
Phare Performing Social Enterprise homepage
https://www.pharepse.org/
Phare Performing Social Enterprise case study
https://cerise-spm.org/app/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/3-Case-study-PPSE__final_En.pdf
Phare Ponleu Selpak homepage
https://phareps.org/
Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation article: Laiterie du Berger: a promising experiment
http://gca-foundation.org/news/laiterie-du-berger-a-promising-experiment
Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation homepage
http://gca-foundation.org/
Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation 2018 Annual Report
http://gca-foundation.org/news/The-Foundation-publishes-its-2018-Integrated-Annual-Report
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Institution VisionFund, UK Department for International Development (DFID) to Expand Mobile Banking in Rural Myanmar
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-institution-visionfund-uk-department-for-international-development-dfid-to-expand-mobile-banking-in-rural-myanmar/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Producer of Dolima Dairy Products in Senegal, Laiterie de Berger, Borrows $260k from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-producer-of-dolima-dairy-products-in-senegal-laiterie-de-berger-borrows-260k-from-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation/
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