The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has agreed to lend EUR 3 million (USD 3.5 million) over three years to Pahal Financial Services, a microfinance institution based in Ahmedabad, India. Caroline Brandt, senior investment manager at GCA Foundation, stated that the partnership will further both “financial inclusion and women[’s] empowerment in India,” now that it seems “Pahal, its clients and the whole industry are recovering fast from this crisis” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Established in 2011, Pahal provides poor families with credit intended to help them become “economically self-sufficient and bring qualitative change in their standard of living and their status in society.” The organization’s joint and individual loans can be used for enterprise, housing upgrades, agriculture, livestock, education, consumption and vehicles. Pahal also offers a health insurance product called Hospicash as well as life insurance. As of 2021, Pahal has 167 branches, serves 300,000 customers – nearly all women – and has total assets of EUR 81 million (USD 96.4 million).
GCA Foundation was established in 2008 by Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. The organization seeks to reduce poverty by providing funding and technical assistance to MFIs and other social businesses. As of March 2021, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 82 million (USD 97.5 million) outstanding to 85 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Approximately 85 percent of its investees’ clients live in rural areas, and 73 percent are women.
By Steffi Ong, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCA press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-grants-a-e3m-loan-to-pahal-in-favour-of-financial-inclusion-in-india
Pahal profile
https://www.pahalfinance.com/about-us/
Pahal annual reports
https://www.pahalfinance.com/annual-report-2/
GCA Foundation homepage
https://www.gca-foundation.org/
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