MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Lazika Capital of Georgia Borrows $1.6m in Local Currency from Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation for Agricultural Lending, Microfinance

Lazika Capital, headquartered in western Georgia, has acquired loans totaling the approximate local-currency equivalent of USD 1.6 million from the Grameen Crédit Agricole (GCA) Foundation, whose head office is in Luxembourg. Established in 2000 by the British member of the NGO Stichting Oxfam International, Lazika is a microfinance institution that offers loans for entrepreneurship and agriculture. It serves 15,000 customers with an even female-male ratio. About seven of each 10 of the institution’s clients live in rural areas. Its loan portfolio totals EUR 34 million (USD 39 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 December 2021, GCA Foundation has a portfolio of EUR 78 million (USD 88 million) outstanding to 81 partners in 37 countries in Africa and Eurasia. Approximately 81 percent of its investees’ clients live in rural areas, and 90 percent are women.

By Adhya Singh, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

GCA Foundation press release
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/media-room/#the-latest-funding-of-the-foundation-in-europe-and-central-asia

Lazika homepage
https://www.lazikacapital.ge/

Lazika 2021 financial statements
https://www.lazikacapital.ge/storage/upload/reports/3/lJxhYylrN9JiMcKLNk4oA0gsMvsOiBfGjKweigSA.pdf

GCA Foundation profile on Lazika
https://www.gca-foundation.org/en/organisation/lazika-2/

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