The Grameen Credit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg, has informed MicroCapital that it lent EUR 716,000 (USD 815,000) to Baobab DRC, a microfinance institution (MFI) operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The MFI is affiliated with Baobab, a France-based firm offering financial services in 10 countries. Baobab DRC was known as Oxus DRC until Baobab purchased it in 2017 from the Oxus Group, which is majority-held by the French NGO ACTED.
As of its 2017 annual report, Baobab DRC had USD 7.8 million in total assets and a one-year loss of USD 3 million. It served 11,000 clients, one third of whom were youth, via 4 branches. The MFI’s loan terms varied from four to 12 months, and it was just beginning to offer deposit services.
Baobab, which was launched in 2005 as Microcred, operates in China and nine African countries as of 2019. It provides digital loans, deposits, insurance and money transfers to 650,000 customers. Through Baobab+, it offers non-financial services such as access to clean water and energy. As of 2017, Baobab reported an aggregate loan portfolio of EUR 551 million (USD 620 million) and deposits of EUR 194 million (USD 220 million).
As of 2018, the Oxus Group serves 41,000 clients in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with a gross loan portfolio of USD 32 million. ACTED, formerly known as the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, is active in areas such as disaster resilience and “cultural promotion.” Founded in 1993, the organization operates in 38 countries as of 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 January 2019, GCA Foundation has commitments of approximately EUR 82 million (USD 92 million) outstanding to 79 partners in 35 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Its partners serve approximately 3.9 million customers, of whom 75 percent are women and 80 percent live in rural areas.
By Anuhya Tadepalli, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Direct contact with the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation
Baobab homepage
https://baobab.bz
Baobab Group 2017 Annual Report
https://baobab.bz/rapports/RA_BGP_EN_2018_BD.pdf
Baobab DRC 2017 Annual Report
https://baobab.bz/rapports/RA_BRDC_2018_BD.pdf
Baobab: list of annual reports for 2017
https://baobab.bz/announcement/2017-baobab-group-results/
GCA Foundation homepage
http://gca-foundation.org/
GCA Foundation 2017 Annual Report
http://gca-foundation.org/data/grameen/publications-gca/rapport-annuel/2017-Annual Report-ENG.pdf
Oxus homepage
http://www.oxusnetwork.org/notre-groupe/bienvenue-sur-le-site-doxus
ACTED homepage
https://www.acted.org
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation Lends $3m in Local Currency to Asian Credit Fund of Kazakhstan, Oxus Tajikistan for Microfinance
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-foundation-lends-3m-local-currency-asian-credit-fund-kazakhstan-oxus-tajikistan-microfinance/
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