In 2009 public and private bodies in France channelled 270 million Euros of refinancing into microfinance in developing countries. What is the Group’s share of the French contribution?

Societe Generale declared 112 million Euros, or more than 40 % of the total known to have been pledged. This sizeable contribution had already been reported in a study published at end 2009 by the French Agency for Development.

Like all our colleagues at home and abroad we contribute indirectly to the growth of the sector by providing financing for microfinance institutions.

This conscious decision to make our skills as professional bakers available for development projects is perfectly aligned with our corporate social responsibility policy.

Which microfinance institutions benefit from our financing?

In 2009 about thirty institutions of widely varying size and type benefitted from lines of credit provided by our subsidiaries in 14 overseas countries. In this way these institutions benefit from local sources of financing in local currency.

Our involvement is a result of the Group’s wish to respond to the needs of the markets in which it operates. Our historical presence in Africa quite naturally lead us to focus our activities on microfinance operators. Their activities complement our own. By standing shoulder to shoulder with them Societe Generale is pursuing its objective of combating their lack of access to funds and helping to broaden the availability of financial products and services in emerging countries.

The microfinance sector has not been spared by the economic crisis; most institutions have reduced their forecasts. The lines granted by the Group nevertheless remain significant at more than 100 million Euros, of which nearly 90 % is directed to the African continent.

Apart from the size of our commitment to the development of microfinance on the African continent, what else should be said about our contribution?

Our Group is one of the few to hold shares. Societe Generale is a founding shareholder in MicroCred, a holding company founded by the Planet Finance group to create a network of microfinance banks. MicroCred has subsidiaries in Senegal, Madagascar and China and will soon be in Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

Encouraged by both the international retail bank (BHFM) and its African subsidiaries, Societe Generale also took part in the creation from scratch of six microfinance institutions. Three are already operational, whereas the others are waiting for approvals from the appropriate authorities to begin their activities. Although they are minority shareholders, our subsidiaries play an important role for these institutions in terms of governance, by providing advice and assistance and as a reputable banking partner.  

These activities are managed by the CSR department at BHFM in Paris. We have one full time person in the team who takes care of the interface between the local Societe Generale staff and the players in microfinance (NGO’s, financial backers, networks, investors …).

In which countries do we have a direct shareholding?

In Madagascar we have shares in the first bank in the country to specialise in microfinance, the Access Banque Madagascar (ABM) and an indirect share of MicroCred Madagascar. In Cameroon and Ghana we have invested alongside the Advans group. The next countries will be Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.