The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently announced it has issued a loan of approximately USD 550,000 to Programme d’Appui aux Initiatives de Développement Economique du Kivu (PAIDEK) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a local-currency loan to MicroLoan Foundation Zambia approximately equivalent to USD 500,000.
Founded in 1993, PAIDEK aims to alleviate poverty in DRC through microfinance. As of 2022, it manages a portfolio of EUR 4.2 million (USD 4.2 million) serving 16,000 people – including men and women in roughly equal numbers.
Founded in 2008, MicroLoan Foundation Zambia is an NGO seeking to eliminate poverty via group loans, training and mentoring for women for business purposes. As of 2022, the organization manages a portfolio of EUR 787,000 (USD 788,000) and has a client base of 34,000 rural women. MicroLoan Foundation Zambia is affiliated with MicroLoan Foundation UK, which is active in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The organization reported total expenditures of EUR 2.8 million (USD 2.9 million) for 2020.
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 2022, it manages assets valued at EUR 89 million (USD 89 million) outstanding to 75 partners in 36 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners’ beneficiaries are mainly women living in rural areas.
Crédit Agricole was established in 1885 to provide agricultural loans in France. As of December 2021, it serves 53 million people in 47 countries. It values its assets under management at EUR 2.6 trillion (USD 2.6 trillion) as of March 2022.
By Ben Greissman, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-foundation-grants-four-new-loans-in-sub-saharan-africa
GCA Foundation profile on PAIDEK
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/paidek-2/
GCA Foundation profile on MLF Zambia
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/mlf-zambia-2/
MicroLoan Foundation homepage
https://www.microloanfoundation.org.uk
MicroLoan Foundation annual report
https://www.microloanfoundation.org.uk/reports/
Previous MicroCapital article on GCA Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-acep-niger-acfime-borrow-in-local-currency-from-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-for-microfinance-in-sub-saharan-africa/
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