The agricultural sector is still structuring (28% of the GDP and 70% of the active population) but the share of the service sector tends to increase. The rural population rose to 69.42% in 2018.
The institution:
Proximity is a microfinance institution created in Myanmar in 2010 that designs and delivers affordable and income-generating products for rural families.
Impact:
Proximity strives to improve the livelihoods of rural Myanmar people by providing innovative financial services tailored to their needs. The institution uses the dynamism of businesses to create social value.
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has made three new investments in Asia, including one to a new partner in India.
In partnership with CA CIB India, the Foundation has granted a guarantee equivalent to € 5 million to the Indian microfinance institution Annapurna, for a loan granted in local currency by CA CIB India. Annapurna Finance Pvt. Ltd (AFPL) was established in 2009, and is now one of the top ten NBFC-MFIs in the country. The institution was established with a purpose of serving the economically backward clients by bringing them to mainstream, providing need based financial services at their doorstep. Its main objectives are to provide financial assistance for economic empowerment, to offer tailor made, need based products for catering to every life cycle need of the clients and to give priority to women and to involve them directly in production activities through Self-help groups and access to finance, so that the opportunities are created for additional income. As of today, the institution serves 1.6 million active borrowers, 99% of which are women and 85% of which live in rural areas.
Similarly, in Myanmar, the Foundation has granted a new loan for a total amount equivalent to € 2.3 million in local currency over a four-year period to VisionFund Myanmar, a microfinance institution that lends small sums of money to people who do not have a measurable credit history, assets to secure the loans, or access to mainstream financial providers. As of today, VisionFund Myanmar serves over 190,000 clients, 86% of whom are women and 59% of whom live in rural areas.
Also in Myanmar, the Foundation has granted a new loan in local currency equivalent to € 1.8 million over a four-year period to Proximity Designs, on behalf of Proximity Finance, a microfinance programme whose mission is to addres extreme poverty by treating the poor as customers. To date, the programme has 117,000 active borrowers, 69% of whom are women.
Finally, in Cambodia, the Foundation has granted a loan equivalent to € 1.6 million to Chamroeun, a historical partner of the Foundation since 2010. Chamroeun is a microfinance institution that provides financial services to the poorest, those excluded from the range of more commercial microfinance institutions. The institution serves over 30,000 clients, 82% of whom are women.
To date, the Foundation has 16 partners in Asia for a total portfolio of € 25 million which represents 27% of the outstanding portfolio of the Foundation os of November.
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has made new investments in its Asian partners with five loans granted in Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
It has thus granted a €2.1 million loan to KOMIDA, a historical partner of the Foundation which is active in Indonesia exclusively among women. KOMIDA is a microfinance NGO which started to provide microloans in 2005 to the population hit hard by the tsunami in Banda Aceh province. The institution was transformed into a savings and loan cooperative in 2008 and now has more than 545,000 clients.
The Foundation has moreover granted a €1.1 million loan to Proximity in Myanmar. Proximity Finance is a microfinance programme developed by Proximity Designs intended to eradicate extreme poverty in the country by treating the poor as clients and by proposing innovative and affordable technologies and services to the families it finances and which earn their living by cultivating small plots of land. The institution has nearly 100,000 clients, 66% of whom are women.
In Sri Lanka, the Foundation granted a new €347,000 loan to Berendina, a microfinance institution dedicated to reducing poverty and improving the living conditions of the poorest groups in the country. Berendina today has 99,000 clients, 87% of whom are women. All its clients are in rural areas.
Finally, in Cambodia, the Foundation has granted two loans to Ankor Mikroheranhvatho (Kampuchea) Co. Ltd (AMK) and to Chamroeun of €2.5 million and €973,000 respectively. AMK provides loans mainly through village banking, giving priority to poor women in rural areas, and to farming activities. Since 2010, the institution has also been authorized to collect savings. It has nearly 325,000 clients at this time, 93% of whom are in rural areas, and 81% women. For its part, Chamroeun, which has 26,300 clients, is a microfinance institution that puts social purpose at the heart of its economic model. It provides financial services to the poorest segments of the population along with a range of training and support services.
At the end of December 2018, the Asia region, where the Foundation has 14 partners, accounted for 25% of all the commitments and 17.6% of new loans provided in the course of the period.
For more information on the Foundation’s partners, click here.
