Microfinance

Microfinance **

Objective:
  • Support the lasting development of microfinance in the countries in which its International Retail Banking operates.
Priority:
2008 highlights:
  • Setting up of Advans Ghana in which SG SSB (Ghana) is the founding shareholder
  • € 154 million in loans to microfinance institutions.
As part of its universal banking activities, Société Générale continues to set up subsidiaries in a number of countries where access to banking services and products is still limited, above all across the African continent and more particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have the expertise needed to finance people and projects that do not meet the traditional lending requirements of banks. Société Générale currently focuses on two core areas of microfinancing: the financing of MFIs and investing in a company's capital.
Today, Société Générale's subsidiaries have granted credit lines to 38 institutions in 16 different countries and in France's Overseas Departments and Territories for a total € 150 million. As a result, these institutions are then able to finance over 1.5 million micro-entrepreneurs.*
Forming close links with local banks is a major priority for these institutions in order to benefit from long-term financing in their domestic currency. Société Générale Group focuses on countries where it operates as a "universal bank" which enables it to build up close relationships of trust1.
Shareholder in four MFIs and one micro-finance investment company
In investing in an institution's or company's capital, Société Générale is able to play a greater part in the sector writ-large and in the creation of professional, efficient MFIs.
In 2007 and 2008, four of the Group's African subsidiaries invested in the capital of newly-created MFIs and new projects are on the cards for 2009.
Société Générale has a € 3 million equity stake in MicroCred which was founded by PlanetFinance in 2005 with the aim of setting up a group of MFIs.
Investments are considered on the basis of their social impact.
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* Verified by Ernst & Young (see Statutory Auditors' Report )
**As per our commitment under the Global Compact
NOTES
  1. Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar, Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, New Caledoni and the Antilles.