CAURIE | Microfinance Institution
CAURIE was created in 1999 as a Microfinance Program between CRS1 and Caritas Senegal, becoming a supervised savings & credit cooperative in 2009. In less than 23 years, it has become the leading Microfinance Institution in social innovation (>85,000 borrowers), developing a unique “Village Banking (BVL)” group methodology to reach vulnerable women (87% borrowers; 44% live in poverty) in remote rural areas (63% clients) across 13 of 14 regions in Senegal.
CAURIE has significantly increased its financing to agricultural activities in recent years, fostered by the launch of specific agricultural products Reaching more than 9,400 farmers, it has grown Agri financing from EUR 1MM to 5MM in 2017-21, representing now 23% of its loan portfolio. It is currently working on launching new green products to support small farmers and climate change mitigation.
CAURIE is embracing digitalization as a key priority to boost sustainability, launching several digital solutions to improve institutional processes and client service. Currently offering digital loan disbursements & repayments, it is in the process of digitalizing agricultural products’ credit process, adapting its risk assessment based on farmers’ localization, crop activity & financial situation.
CAURIE is promoting climate resilience among its clients, being one of the only two institutions in Senegal joining Microfinance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (MEBA) initiative, organized by United Nations Climate Change to build resilience for rural producers. It is currently working on digitalizing Agri risk-assessment & launching new green products to support climate-change risk mitigation.
Country: Senegal
Investment: EUR 2,5 millon
Investment type: Debt
Technical assistance: Pending confirmation
Date of investment: June 2022
