by Amira Berrada - Africa, Deals, South Asia, East Asia and Pacific -

MICROFINANCE BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Issues $1.25m Loan to Hattha Kaksekar Limited of Cambodia, $800k to Alide of Benin

The Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF), which was founded in Luxembourg by French bank Credit Agricole and Grameen Trust of Bangladesh, has reported to MicroCapital that it has issued a loan of USD 1.25 million with a three-year term and a one-year grace period to Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI). HKL was GCAMF’s first partner in Cambodia and GCAMF currently does business with two other MFIs in Cambodia. HKL’s gross loan portfolio is equivalent to USD 75.3 million.

GCAMF issued its first loan in Benin to Alide, an MFI dedicated to decreasing financial exclusion in Benin, in the amount of XOF 400 million (USD 806,000) with a three-year term and a one-year grace period. Alide reports a gross loan portfolio of USD 3.1 million as of 2010.

As of December 31, 2011, GCAMF reports 45 investment projects in 19 countries that support 30 microfinance institutions (MFIs), four social-business projects and one fund that covers foreign-exchange risk.

By Amira Berrada, Research Associate

About Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL): Hattha Kaksekar Limited is a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was founded in 1994 by two charitable organizations, the Organisation Canadienne pour la Solidarité et le Développement (OCSD) and UK-based Oxfam International. It was transformed into a non-governmental organization (NGO) in 1996 and then into a private liability company in 2001. Its financial supporters have included Oikocredit, Norfund, Triple Jump, the French Development Agency (AFD) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). As of June 30, 2011, HKL reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) a gross loan portfolio of USD 56.4 million and approximately 53,500 borrowers. As of 2010, HKL reported return on assets (ROA) of 4.43 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 21.2 percent.

About Alide: Alide is a Benin-based MFI that was established in 2006 as an outgrowth of a United Nations Development Program initiative. Alide’s mission is to provide sustainable credit, savings and financial services to poor individuals and families living in underprivileged neighborhoods of Benin and Alide has 16,000 active borrowers and a gross loan portfolio of USD 3.1 million as of 2010. Total assets stood at USD 3.9 million in 2010.

About Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF): The Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) was founded in 2008 with an endowment of EUR 50 million (approximately USD 64 million) provided by Crédit Agricole SA, a French retail bank, and Grameen Trust (GT), a nonprofit microfinance organization affiliated with Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. GCAMF offers a range of financing products to microfinance institutions (MFIs), focusing on MFIs that prioritize rural development, transparency, consumer protection and serving women. As of December 31, 2011, GCAMF reports 45 investment projects in 19 countries that support 30 microfinance institutions (MFIs), four social-business projects and one fund that covers foreign-exchange risk.

Sources and Resources:

[1] Data provided to MicroCapital.org from Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation

MicroCapital.org article, March 16, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Guarantees Half of $2.7m From Standard Chartered Bank to Mitra Bisnis Keluarga (MBK) Ventura of Indonesia” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-microfinance-foundation-gcamf-guarantees-half-of-2-7m-from-standard-chartered-bank-to-mitra-bisnis-keluarga-mbk-ventura-of-indonesia/

MicroCapital.org story, January 26, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF) Lends $1.5m to Microfinance Institutions Tuba Rai Metin of East Timor; Humo and Partners, Arvand of Tajikistan,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-grameen-credit-agricole-m…

MicroCapital Universe profile for Hattha Kaksekar Limited: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Hattha+Kaksekar+Limited

MicroCapital Universe profile for Alide: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Alide

MicroCapital Universe profile for Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation (GCAMF): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Grameen+Credit+Agricole+Microfinance+Foundation

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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Amira joined MicroCapital while working at Export Development Canada (EDC) as a Credit Insurance Underwriter. Amira holds a Bachelor degree in International Business and Finance from Concordia University in Montreal. While completing her bachelor degree, Amira spent a semester in France and upon graduation, three months in India working with non-governmental agencies, political and spiritual groups for various socioeconomic initiatives such as the advancement of women. While travelling to different cities and rural areas in India, Amira was touched by the poverty she witnessed and was dedicated to finding a way to intertwine her business interests with her passion for development. She hopes this internship in microfinance will provide the framework to integrate an element of development into her professional career as well as positively contribute to the field of microfinance. Amira speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently and has conversational knowledge in Portuguese and Arabic. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, trying new restaurants such as molecular gastronomy, restaurants made out of ice and Nicaraguan meals wrapped in banana leaves. Most of all, she loves to travel with loved ones.