Smart Credit, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating 12 branch locations in Moldova, recently accepted a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 525,000 from the Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation. Founded in 2010, Smart Credit offers insurance products covering health, vehicle and business needs as well as loans designed for purposes such as housing, business investment and consumption. As of February 2022, the firm serves 3,300 people, of whom about half are women and most live in rural areas. Its loan portfolio totals EUR 5.8 million (USD 6 million). Among Smart Credit’s investors is the Helenos fund of the Belgium cooperative investment manager Inpulse.
Crédit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, established GCA Foundation in 2008. The organization seeks to reduce poverty by providing funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions and other social businesses. As of 2022, it manages assets valued at EUR 90 million (USD 95 million) outstanding to 80 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners’ beneficiaries are mainly women living in rural areas.
The predecessor of Grameen Bank was launched in 1976, and the organization became a bank in 1983. As of November 2022, Grameen Bank serves 10 million members with savings and collateral-free loans serviced in a group format.
Crédit Agricole was established in 1885 to provide agricultural loans in France. As of December 2021, it serves 53 million people in 47 countries. It values its assets under management at EUR 2.6 trillion (USD 2.6 trillion) as of March 2022.
By Renata Samadova, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#in-moldova-the-foundation-strengthens-its-support-to-smart-credit
Smart Credit homepage
https://smartcredit.md
GCA Foundation profile on Smart Credit
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/smart-credit-2/
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