During the second half of 2021, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation carried out 7 new financing in Subsaharan Africa. To date, the Foundation manages a portfolio of €83 million, 34% of which is in Subsaharan Africa.
In Kenya, the Foundation granted a new loan to the microfinance institution Bimas for an amount in local currency equivalent to €800,000. Bimas is a microfinance institution whose mission is to offer innovative financial and non-financial services to people living in rural areas. Bimas has nearly 18,400 customers, 59% of whom are women and 86% rural customers. The Foundation also granted a new loan to ECLOF Kenya for an amount in local currency equivalent to 1.2 million euros. ECLOF Kenya is a microfinance institution whose mission is to enable clients to realize their projects through the provision of related financial and non-financial services. To date, the institution has more than 38,000 clients, 63% of whom are women.
In Benin, the Foundation granted a new loan to the microfinance institution Renaca for an amount in local currency equivalent to €1.5 million. Renaca is a microfinance institution that aims at strengthening the economic base of vulnerable rural, peri-urban and urban populations. The institution has nearly 41,000 clients, 40% of whom live in rural areas and 57% are women.
In Burkina Faso, the Foundation granted a new loan to the microfinance institution ACEP Burkina for an amount in local currency equivalent to €2 million. ACEP Burkina is a microfinance institution that offers financial services that are accessible to people excluded from the traditional banking sector. ACEP Burkina is aimed mainly at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in urban and peri-urban areas. It finances nearly 18,000 clients, 21% of whom are women, and operates only in urban areas.
In Cameroon, the Foundation granted a loan to another institution of the ACEP network, ACEP Cameroon, for an amount in local currency equivalent to €2 million. ACEP Cameroon is a microfinance institution that supports the development of Very Small Enterprises in the country’s urban centers. To date, the institution has around 15,000 clients, 34% of whom are women and 28% live in rural areas.
In Uganda, VisionFund Uganda received a loan equivalent to €400,000. VisionFund Uganda is a microfinance institution and a subsidiary of World Vision. The institution operates nationwide in Uganda with 23 branches. VisionFund Uganda has expanded its outreach to the West Nile region to serve refugees and their host communities through a pilot project conducted by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. Today the institution has nearly 45,000 clients, 95% of whom live in rural areas and 59% are women.
Finally, the Foundation granted a €600,000 loan to LAPO in Sierra Leone. Lauched in 2008, the institutions mainly grants microcredits to women in disadvantaged areas. Today, LAPO is one of the largest microfinance institutions in the country and covers around 80% of the national territory. As of today, the institution has around 23,000 clients, 93% of whom are women and 84% live in rural areas.
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