MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACEP Burkina Borrows $2.6m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microlending

ACEP Burkina, one of the five members of ACEP International, has received a loan approximately equivalent to EUR 2.3 million (USD 2.57 million) from the Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, to support microlending in Burkina Faso. ACEP Burkina specializes in providing loans to micro- and small enterprises in urban and suburban areas. It was founded in 2012 as a partnership between Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), a France-based investor in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Agency for Private Enterprise Credit (ACEP) International. ACEP International was founded in Senegal in 1989 and has since been replicated – in chronological order – in Madagascar, Cameroun, Burkina Faso and Niger.

As of 2017, ACEP Burkina reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 25 million, deposits of USD 4.7 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 23 million. As of 2018, it serves 12,300 clients, 20 percent of whom are women.

I&P manages four funds with an aggregate volume of EUR 125 million (USD 142 million). Since the organization’s founding in 2002, it has used these funds to disburse amounts ranging from EUR 30,000 (USD 34,000) to EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) to 90 SMEs in 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

GCA Foundation was launched in 2008 by the directors of Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, and 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 promoting financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship. As of March 2019, GCA Foundation has commitments of approximately EUR 85 million (USD 95 million) outstanding to 79 partners in 34 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve approximately 4.1 million customers, of whom 75 percent are women and 77 percent live in rural areas.

By Anuhya Tadepalli, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)
http://www.ietp.com/en

I&P on ACEP Burkina
http://www.ietp.com/en/company/acep-burkina

MIX profile on ACEP Burkina
https://www.themix.org/mixmarket/profiles/acep-burkina-sa

Triple Jump profile on ACEP Burkina
https://triplejump.eu/company/acep-burkina/

Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation homepage
http://gca-foundation.org/

Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation 2017 Annual Report
http://gca-foundation.org/data/grameen/publications-gca/rapport-annuel/2017-Annual-Report-ENG.pdf

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Investisseurs & Partenaires Raises $28m for I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs (IPAE) 2, an Equity Fund Investing in SMEs in Africa
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-investisseurs-partenaires-raises-28m-for-ip-afrique-entrepreneurs-ipae-2-an-equity-fund-investing-in-smes-in-africa/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: ACEP Cameroun, Musoni Kenya Borrow Local-currency Equivalent of $3.7m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-acep-cameroun-musoni-kenya-borrow-local-currency-equivalent-3-7m-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation/

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