Early this year Crédit Agricole joined forces with Grameen Bank, the pioneering provider of microfinance, to support fledgling microlenders around the world. The French banking group said it would inject €50m to endow a foundation that will work with Grameen to provide financial guarantees and expertise to help launch microfinance institutions. According to the Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation website, “A microfinance institution (MFI) is a local entity that provides small-scale financial services (credit, savings, insurance) to people with no access to the traditional banking system, by giving them the resources they need to develop a business.”
Founded in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus, laureate of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Grameen Bank (village bank) is known world-wide for its efforts to eradicate global poverty. Through Grameen Trust, Grameen has developed its model in 38 countries so far. Overall, $6bn has been lent to 7 million people. In 2007, The Banker magazine named Crédit Agricole Global Bank of the Year for its socially and environmentally responsible policies.
The partnership is a poignant illustration of how a corporation, Crédit Agricole in this case, can go above and beyond in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. Competition among corporations to outdo one another in CSR initiatives would be healthy competition indeed. We will monitor the progress of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation and hope that the changes the foundation will engender are real and sustainable.
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