[CP] SIDI and Crédit Coopératif intensify their relationship for solidarity investment.
SIDI and Crédit Coopératif are pleased to announce the strengthening of their partnership in the service of solidarity finance.
By acquiring a stake in Inpulse Investment Manager, a microfinance fund management company and subsidiary of Crédit Coopératif, SIDI will be able to expand its range of services for its partners in developing countries. This will give SIDI considerable additional leverage to attract new investors via the impact funds it will be developing with Inpulse and Crédit Coopératif.
SIDI promotes finance that serves integral, socially just and ecologically sustainable development, based on the values of solidarity, trust, ethics and transparency. Its private and institutional shareholders give it the means to carry out its activities, and in return expect added value that is exclusively human, social and environmental.
This year’s Social and Environmental Review looks back over the four years of SIDI’s 2017-2020 Strategic Plan.
A wealth of information and figures highlighting the importance of the two pillars on which SIDI’s action towards its partners is based: financing and support.
An assessment that measures our progress, and that of our partners, in terms of ecological and social transition.
→ 139 partners in 36 countries
→ Growth in SIDI’s overall portfolio: from €25.1m in 2017 to €37.3m by the end of 2020
→ Africa remains SIDI’s No. 1 priority: 67% of partners, 56% of its portfolio by the end of 2020
→ Micro-finance institutions focused on rural financing, producer organizations mostly certified organic and fair trade
→ A focus on the most vulnerable populations: 46% of beneficiaries are women and 47% are from rural areas
[chapeau] In the face of a major new crisis affecting Palestine, SIDI rejects all violence and recalls that the Palestinians are first and foremost a people, of all secular and religious persuasions, deprived of their rights. SIDI intends to pursue its commitment in this area in order to provide the population with access to the essential financial services they need to develop their economic activities. [/chapeau]
SIDI has been involved in Palestine since the 90s, defending the economic rights of the population through its work with local microfinance institutions ACAD and ASALA. It was the first solidarity investor.
Given the recurrence of crises and the violent effects of occupation, it became clear to SIDI that microfinance could not develop without a guarantee fund to cover these contextual risks. Current events once again confirm the relevance of the DAMAN guarantee fund, set up in 2008 by SIDI with its two partners ACAD Finance and ASALA Credit & Development.
This risk is in fact multiplied, and concerns in particular the foreseeable destruction of economic projects financed by microfinance institutions. In practical terms, DAMAN enables local microfinance institutions to continue covering the risk of lending to vulnerable populations in the West Bank and Gaza: when the beneficiary of a microcredit is unable to repay due to acts of war or the consequences of the Israeli occupation, the MFI can then call on DAMAN for compensation.
DAMAN was perpetuated in 2015 by the creation of a non-profit company recognized by the Palestinian Monetary Authority. The DAMAN fund is therefore open to financial support from other players, and today enjoys the support of the NGO Paix Juste au Proche Orient.
SIDI is pursuing its mission as a solidarity investor in Palestine and is standing by its partners as they face up to the dramatic challenges of today. It will continue to call for sincere dialogue and a just peace.
[chapeau]Since the beginning of the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, SIDI has maintained an ongoing dialogue with international microfinance players. As part of this commitment, we have recently committed to a set of key principles developed collectively to help MFIs and their customers cope with the effects of the crisis.[/chapeau]
SIDI is a member of a think tank, made up of microfinance players, which met in April 2020, at the initiative of the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation, to discuss the situation and define a joint commitment to guide the response to the health and economic crisis. This could spell trouble for many MFIs and their customers, leaving vulnerable populations in desperate straits. The challenge was therefore to jointly find solutions to limit the effects of the crisis as much as possible, while continuing to strengthen financial inclusion for vulnerable populations. A list of key principles to be respected between investors has been drawn up to protect both MFIs and their customers, and guarantee continued access to financing under the best possible conditions.
By signing this agreement, SIDI undertakes to respect this non-exhaustive list of principles(full document here):
In the current context, it is essential to forge operational alliances between microfinance players in order to best support those MFIs that will be hardest hit by the crisis. SIDI is thus preparing to adapt and soften the profile of its relationships with its partner organizations, according to its capacities and in a coordinated manner.
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