The creation of the Foundation: Crédit Agricole is faithful to the cooperative principles of its origins.

The origins of Crédit Agricole lie in the agricultural cooperative movement of the end of the 19th century. French peasant-farmers’ desire to free themselves from dependence on landowners and moneylenders, as well as to have access to crop and equipment loans that they could not obtain from traditional banks, led to the creation of these mutual agricultural credit institutions. They were founded on the principles of proximity, financial solidarity and cooperative democracy (the “one man, one vote” principle), which continue to inspire Crédit Agricole today.

By providing support for microfinance institutions and social business projects in developing countries and especially in rural areas, the Crédit Agricole Group remains faithful to its cooperative tradition and to its commitment to sustainable and solidarity-based development.

The creation of the Foundation: Crédit Agricole plays its part in achieving the Millennium Summit objectives.

Grameen Crédit Agricole Microfinance Foundation reflects the Crédit Agricole Group’s implementation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, especially Goal n°1: halving the number of people living in extreme poverty or suffering from hunger, between now and 2015.

The action carried out by Prof Yunus in the last 30 years has indeed shown microcredit’s effectiveness in reducing poverty around the world, by giving each person the possibility of creating an income-generating activity, even if a small one. Microfinance and social business, which are based on pursuing a social mission via a business model, provide a specific contribution to the achievement of this Goal, as a complement to official development policies and activities implemented by development NGOs.