MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Proximity Finance Myanmar Borrows $1.5m in Local Currency from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Rural Microfinance Lending

The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it has lent local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.5 million in favor of Proximity Finance Myanmar for on-lending in rural areas. Proximity Finance is a unit of Proximity Designs, which is a US-registered NGO exclusively serving Myanmar. Proximity Designs offers technical assistance and research services as well as – through Proximity Finance – loans for farming, raising livestock, relocation and small business. Of this loan activity, 92 percent is for agriculture.

As of 2018, Proximity Designs reports a gross loan portfolio of USD 18 million disbursed to 91,000 borrowers via 16 branches serving 2,065 villages. The NGO does not accept deposits.

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 September 2018, GCA Foundation has commitments of approximately EUR 77 million (USD 89 million) outstanding to 73 partners in 34 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve 3.3 million customers, of whom 77 percent are women and 76 percent live in rural areas.

By Anuhya Tadepalli, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

Proximity Finance
https://proximitydesigns.org/service/farm-finance/

Proximity Designs
https://proximitydesigns.org/

Proximity Designs financial report, June 2017
https://proximitydesigns.org/wp-content/uploads/Proximity-Designs-Audited-Financial-Statements-for-Year-Ended-June-30-2017.pdf

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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