The Luxembourg-based Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation recently disbursed a local-currency loan approximately equivalent to USD 3.2 million to the microfinance institution (MFI) Palestine for Credit and Development, which is also known by its Arabic name Faten. Founded in 1999 and based in Palestine’s West Bank, Faten is an NGO that seeks to “meet [the] financial services needs of low- and middle-income Palestinian entrepreneurs and individuals.” As of April 2022, the organization operated 35 branches and had approximately 26,000 borrowers.
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 MFIs and other social businesses. As of 2023, GCA Foundation manages assets valued at EUR 89 million (USD 98 million) outstanding to 62 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. These partners’ beneficiaries are mainly women living in rural areas.
By Renata Samadova, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-foundation-consolidates-its-partnership-with-faten
GCA Foundation press release in French
https://www.gca-foundation.org/espace-medias/#la-fondation-consolide-son-partenariat-avec-faten-en-palestine
Faten homepage
https://www.faten.org
GCA Foundation homepage
https://www.gca-foundation.org
Previous MicroCapital article on GCA Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-arnur-credit-of-kazakhstan-borrows-3-3m-from-grameen-credit-agricole-to-expand-access-to-microfinance/
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