The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has loaned local currency approximately equivalent to USD 1.7 million to Entrepreneur Financial Centre (EFC) Zambia, a microfinance institution offering loans and savings services, mainly in urban areas. Founded in 1996, the microbank offers loans for working capital, invoice discounting and housing improvements in Zambia. It also has a program allowing borrowers to become shareholders in the institution. As of 2019, EFC Zambia has 4,000 borrowers, including approximately 1,700 women.
EFC Zambia is one of five EFCs set up by Développement international Desjardins (DiD), a member of the Canadian cooperative Desjardins Group. The other EFCs are in Panama, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. As of December 2018, these EFCs operate a total of 38 branches serving 38,000 clients, of whom 35 percent are women.
The mission of DiD is “to provide disadvantaged communities around the world with access to secure, diversified financial services.” In addition to supporting EFCs, the organization manages the equivalent of USD 26 million via its Partnership Fund and Desjardins Fund for Inclusive Finance.
The Desjardins Group, a financial cooperative offering banking, insurance, securities and investment services, holds approximately CAD 313 billion (USD 238 billion) in assets as of September 2019.
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 May 2019, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 82.2 million (USD 92.4 million). It supports 81 partners in 38 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners serve approximately 4.1 million customers, of whom 74 percent are women and 75 percent live in rural areas.
Sources and Additional Resources
Information provided to MicroCapital by Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation
EFC Zambia
http://www.efczambia.com.zm/
DiD home page
http://did.qc.ca/
DiD 2018 Annual Review
https://www.did.qc.ca/media/documents/en/rapport-annuel/DID-AnnualReport2018.pdf
Desjardins Group financials
https://www.desjardins.com/ca/about-us/investor-relations/annual-quarterly-reports/desjardins-group/index.jsp
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