Oxus Kyrgyzstan, one of three microfinance institution (MFI) affiliates of the France-based Oxus Development Network, recently borrowed local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.6 million from Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, which has offices in France and Luxembourg. Like its partner MFIs in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, Oxus Kyrgyzstan seeks to improve access to finance for the “working poor and unbanked.” The Oxus institutions operate in partnership with the French NGO Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED).
Oxus Kyrgyzstan, established in 2006, has a portfolio of EUR 9.4 million (USD 10.3 million) outstanding to 6,100 women and 4,800 men. Two thirds of the MFI’s clients live in rural areas.
ACTED works in 40 countries, serving people who “have suffered from conflict, natural disaster, or socio-economic hardship.” Per its 2021 annual report, the NGO has a budget of EUR 393 million (USD 431 million) and 18 million beneficiaries.
Crédit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, 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 2023, GCA Foundation manages assets valued at EUR 89 million (USD 97 million) outstanding to 62 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Of these partners’ clients, 93 percent are women, and 86 percent live in rural areas.
By Elva Montelongo, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Sources
GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#increased-activity-in-eastern-europe-and-central-asia
GCA Foundation profile on Oxus Kyrgyzstan
https://www.gca-foundation.org/organisation/oxus/
Oxus Kyrgyzstan homepage
https://oxus.kg/
Oxus Development Network homepage
https://www.oxusnetwork.org/
ACTED homepage
https://www.acted.org
ACTED annual report
https://www.acted.org/en/about-us/annual-report-2/
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