The call for applications is now closed
2023 European Microfinance Award
Inclusive Finance for Food Security & Nutrition
THE THREE FINALISTS ARE KNOWN
Award ceremony: 16 November 2023 (LUXEMBOURG)
The 2023 European Microfinance Award 3 finalists
FORTUNE CREDIT LTD
FUNDACIÓN GÉNESIS EMPRESARIAL
YIKRI
Read the press release on the 3 finalists in English, en français y en español.
The winner will be announced at the European Microfinance Award Ceremony organised, in person, on 16 November 2023.
The winner will receive EUR 100.000 and the 2 runners-up EUR 10.000 each.
The European Microfinance Award is jointly organised by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) and the Inclusive Finance Network Luxembourg (InFiNe.lu).
Year of establishment: 2014
Legal status: MFI
Total number of clients: 15 750 / 55% are women
Total number of staff: 45 / 20% women
Fortune Credit Ltd is a Kenyan MFI offering services to a rural client base in a context of low farm productivity caused by lack of access to quality inputs, poor agricultural practices, lack of other infrastructure, and climate-related issues such as droughts. Inadequate resources and poor nutrition knowledge make it difficult for low-income people to purchase nutritious food. Fortune’s initiative includes land financing and cookstove and motorbike loans which facilitate market access for rural farmers; water tank financing; and a certified seed program in partnership with agri-dealers, where farmers can pre-pay in installments. Fortune also offers training on financial literacy, food production and environmental sustainability.
Year of establishment: 1988
Legal status: MFI (Foundation)
Total number of clients: 332 376 / 72% are women
Total number of staff: 3 101 / 28% women
Fundación Génesis Empresarial is a Guatemalan non-profit foundation specialised in sustainable rural development. Responding to the challenges of malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases, Genesis was chosen for an integrated combination of financial services, including working capital and assets loans for agriculture, which via its Agri-Livestock Value-chain Initiative is coupled with agronomist guidance and climate-smart agricultural practices, as well as non-financial services, such as a well-being programme with training on nutrition, health, business and financial management, plus food bank support for the distribution of food and emergency assistance to poor populations.
Year of establishment: 2014
Legal status: MFI
Total number of clients: 36 357 / 85% are women
Total number of staff: 105 / 50% women
Yikri is an MFI in Burkina Faso, a country with among the highest global levels of food insecurity as well as long-term socio-political violence. Yikri offers group-based financial services alongside education on financial literacy, health and nutrition, and agricultural practices. Yikri field officers are trained to recognise the warning signs of malnutrition in mothers and children and refer clients to associations offering subsidized milk programs. Yikri has a subsidised agricultural loan accompanied by training on sustainable agri-practices, including increasing crop production while reducing environmental impacts, and has started “field schools” to demonstrate recommended farming practices, as well as value chain training that connects farmers with input suppliers and buyers.