MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation Loaning $2.6m in Local Currency to Humo of Tajikistan, ACF of Kazakhstan for On-Lending, Mainly to Rural Customers

The Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, recently announced it has begun disbursing two loans in local currency to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Central Asia. In Tajikistan, GCA Foundation is disbursing a loan worth approximately USD 1.4 million to Humo. The foundation also is loaning the approximate equivalent of USD 1.2 million to the Asian Credit Fund (ACF) MFI in Kazakhstan. Both loans are to be used for on-lending to vulnerable populations, primarily in rural areas.

Humo provides microloans and financial advisory services to Tajikistan’s vulnerable populations and small businesses. The MFI serves 73,000 clients, of whom 75 percent live in rural areas. As of 2021, it has a loan portfolio of EUR 37.6 million (USD 44.4 million).

Active since 1997, ACF uses a “community-based lending model,” providing clients with individually tailored financial services and technical advice to promote the development of rural households and communities, grow small businesses, and facilitate home ownership. As of 2021, ACF serves approximately 27,000 clients, the majority of whom are women and 93 percent of whom reside in rural areas. It holds a loan portfolio of EUR 16.4 million (USD 19.4 million).

Credit Agricole, a French retail bank, in partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, 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 May 2021, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 86 million (USD 103 million) outstanding to 89 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Approximately 85 percent of its investees’ clients live in rural areas, and 73 percent are women.

By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with GCA Foundation

Humo homepage
https://www.humo.tj/

ACF homepage
https://asiancreditfund.com/

GCA profile on Humo
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/humo-2/

GCA profile on ACF
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/asian-credit-fund-acf/

Previous MicroCapital article on GCA Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-oxus-mfis-in-tajikistan-kyrgyzstan-borrow-2-1m-from-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-for-on-lending-mostly-in-rural-areas/

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