The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is lending the local-currency equivalent of EUR 500,000 (USD 580,000) to Business Initiatives and Management Assistance Services (BIMAS), a microfinance institution in Kenya. BIMAS, which is based in the city of Embu, was founded in 1997. The institution offers microinsurance as well as group and individual loans specific to youth, farming, dairy production, education, solar power and asset finance. As of 2017, it has 37,000 customers and a loan portfolio of KSH 700 million (USD 6.94 million), of which approximately 75 percent is placed in rural areas.
GCA Foundation was founded in 2008 by Credit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, in partnership with 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 creating a “better-shared economy.” As of June 2018, GCA Foundation has commitments of approximately EUR 65 million (USD 79 million) outstanding to 71 partners in 33 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve 3.2 million customers, of whom 77 percent are women and 76 percent live in rural areas.
By Erik McDonald, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Direct contact with Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
BIMAS
http://www.bimaskenya.com/
Biashara Leo article on BIMAS
http://biasharaleo.co.ke/index.php/2017/01/10/bimas-financial-haven-for-rural-communities-2/
Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation homepage
http://gca-foundation.org/
Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation 2017 Annual Report
http://gca-foundation.org/data/grameen/media/documents/Grameen-Credit-Agricole-Foundation-Integrated-Annual-Report-2017-.pdf
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