MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Advans Cote d’Ivoire, Aga Khan’s PAMF-Mali Borrowing $3.8m from Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), a Luxembourg-based provider of financial services to microfinance institutions and other social businesses, recently informed MicroCapital that it has committed to extending the following local-currency loans in phases over three years: the equivalent of USD 2.9 million to Advans Cote d’Ivoire and the equivalent of USD 890,000 to Premiere Agence de MicroFinance (PAMF) Mali.

Advans Cote d’Ivoire is a unit of Advans SA, a venture capital company registered in Luxembourg and managed by Horus Development Finance of France. Advans SA, which is active in 10 countries, describes its mission as to “build a model group of financial institutions which contribute to strengthening local businesses, creating and sustaining jobs and improving clients’ living standards in order to foster private sector-led economic and social development in Africa, the Middle-East and Asia.” As of 2016, Advans Cote d’Ivoire had a gross loan portfolio of USD 65 million outstanding to 12,500 borrowers and USD 38 million held for 68,000 depositors. Horus Development Finance provides consulting services for stakeholders involved in MSME and rural finance.

Established in 2006 by the Switzerland-based Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, PAMF-Mali provides small enterprises with services such as deposit accounts, group loans and inventory credit intended to enhance agricultural productivity. The institution, which serves approximately equal numbers of women and men, is based in the Mopti region and also operates in Djenne, Koro and Sevare. PAMF-Mali last reported data to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) in 2008. More recent financials on the organization are unavailable. The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance is a unit of the Aga Khan Development Agency and provides housing and agricultural loans as well as microsavings to people in poor areas. The Aga Khan Development Network operates in 30 countries and works in areas including health, education, architecture and music.

GCAMF was founded in Luxembourg in 2008 by Credit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, and Grameen Trust, a nonprofit microfinance organization affiliated with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. GCAMF focuses on supporting organizations that prioritize rural development, transparency, consumer protection and serving women. As of June 2017, GCAMF has invested in 54 microfinance institutions, 15 social-business projects and one fund in 29 countries in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

By Ryan Gauthier, Research Associate