MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $7.1m to Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK); Advans Group to Refinance in DRC, Myanmar

The Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation (GCAF), whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently informed MicroCapital that it is disbursing loans to: (1) Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) in the amount of EUR 1.4 million (USD 1.6 million), to be disbursed in three installments; and (2) Luxembourg-based Advans Group in the amount of USD 5.5 million, primarily for it to refinance loans held by the group’s microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

AFK is a non-banking finance institution based in the city of Peja that aims to improve living standards in Kosovo by providing financial services to small businesses and microenterprises. The organization was founded in 1999 by Mercy Corps, a US-based humanitarian agency that controls two of AFK’s five board seats as of 2017. As of December 2016, the microlender reported total assets of USD 20 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD 18 million. As of 2018, AFK has approximately 14,000 customers, which it serves via 20 branches. The organization does not accept deposits.

Launched in 2005 with funding from six development finance institutions (DFIs), Advans is a microfinance holding company whose mission is to increase access to financial services for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging economies. In addition to supporting MSMEs, Advans’ subsidiaries also offer agriculture, education and housing finance. As of 2018, the Advans network serves a total of 780,000 loan clients in the following countries: Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia. As of December 2016, the group held an aggregate gross loan portfolio of EUR 690 million (USD 723 million). As of August 2018, its portfolio in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar totals EUR 34 million (USD 39 million).

GCAF was founded in 2008 by Credit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The foundation provides funding and technical assistance to MFIs and other social businesses with the aim of creating a “better-shared economy.” As of December 2017, GCAF had commitments of EUR 64 million (USD 79 million) outstanding to 69 partners in 28 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve 3 million customers, of whom 76 percent are women and 81 percent live in rural areas.

By Nicholas Galimberti, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with GCAF

AFK background
http://www.afkonline.org/rreth-nesh-eng.html

Advans background
https://www.advansgroup.com/what-we-do/

Advans annual report
https://www.advansgroup.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Advans_Rapport_SA_2016-BAT3web.pdf

MicroCapital Brief; June 22, 2018; IFC Loans $1.2m to AFK of Kosovo for Microlending to Smallholder Farmers; Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs)
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ifc-loans-1-2m-to-afk-of-kosovo-for-microlending-to-smallholder-farmers-micro-small-enterprises-mses/

MicroCapital Brief; April 9, 2018; Georgia’s Lazika, Tajikistan’s Humo Each Borrow $1.5m from Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation for Microfinance Lending
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-georgias-lazika-tajikistans-humo-borrow-1-5m-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-microfinance-lending-2/

MicroCapital Brief; March 31, 2015; Advans Tunisie Launches Microfinance Operations in Tunis
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-advans-tunisie-launches-microfinance-operations-in-tunis/

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