The second meeting of the Foundation Friends Club, the very first of 2018, took place on June 26 and brought together collaborators of both Crédit Agricole Group and the Foundation. This event provided an opportunity for sharing information on the Foundation’s activities and its projects with the Group. The meeting was organized in three parts and focused on the Foundation’s activities in 2017, the program “Solidary Banker by CA”, and the cooperation schemes with Group entities at the international level.
Eric Campos, Delegate general of the Foundation, opened the event by making a brief presentation about the Foundation and its 2017 integrated report. With 49,3 million euros of financing granted in 2017 and 69 microfinance and social business institutions supported in more than 30 countries, the Foundation has shown a positive record and has confirmed its position as an actor committed with a more inclusive economy.
Thereafter, the meeting turned to the existing synergies between the Foundation and the Crédit Agricole Group. Carolina Herrera, Head of Communication & Investors and Partners Relations, presented the skills-based volunteering programme “Solidary Banker by CA”, recently established between the Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA. This is a unique initiative in the history of both the Group and the Foundation, which aims at strengthening the assistance provided by the Foundation to microfinance institutions and social businesses while promoting skills of Crédit Agricole group collaborators.
This is the case of Jonathan Michaud, an agricultural engineer of Crédit Agricole Franche-Comté who participated in the event with the purpose of sharing his experience after a mission to the Laiterie du Berger in Senegal – a social business of which the Foundation and the Caisse Régionale are shareholders.
During the meeting, Hélène Sananikone, equity investment manager of the Foundation, and Jonathan Michaud presented the Laiterie du Berger that promotes the development of the dairy industry in Northern Senegal through a cooperative production mode.
Besides Crédit Agricole France-Comté’s societal commitment, similarities between Laiterie du Berger’s business model and Franche-Comté’s development paradigm have motivated the Caisse Régionale to support this project. As a result of the mission, a detailed action plan has been elaborated and approved by the Laiterie’s Executive Board. The purpose of this action plan is to enhance the business’s productivity and ensure the sustainability of its business model.
The final part of this Foundation’s Circle of Friends meeting focused on the cooperation between the Foundation and the Group at the international level. Caroline Brandt and Violette Cubier, investment managers of the Foundation, presented the cooperation schemes – already in place in Egypt and under negotiation in India, Serbia and Morocco. These partnerships will provide financing to local microfinance institutions, thus allowing both the Foundation to expand its activities and Group entities to position themselves as funders of the social solidarity economy sector.
At the end of the meeting, the audience has been invited to the next edition of the Foundation’s Circle of Friends to take place on October 2nd in Crédit Agricole Montrouge Campus. More news will follow on the Foundation and Group commitments in favor of the inclusive finance sector and the development of rural economies around the world.