Amid global economic challenges, environmental crisis and an unequitable response to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a challenging year for many of our partners and the communities they serve.

This is reflected in the theme of our Impact Report 2022: Rebuilding and Rebalancing.

The Impact Report 2022 outlines how Oikocredit targets social impact and sustainable development through its work across the financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy sectors.

Oikocredit is delighted to announce an investment of US$ 1.5 million in Farmerline Group, an organisation partnering with agribusinesses and farm associations to support African farmers with access to high-quality fertiliser and seeds, free education on climate-smart farming practices and connections to international markets.

Through the equity investment from Oikocredit, Farmerline can accelerate its commitment to support farmers in Ghana, where it is one of the largest employers in the Ghanian agricultural sector.

Social impact investor Oikocredit has appointed Dave Smit as its Director of Impact Investments, effective 10 October 2022.

Dave has nearly 20 years of experience in impact investing and spent the majority of his career in management positions at FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank.

He has been responsible for debt and equity portfolios in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has experience in Oikocredit’s focus sectors: financial inclusion, renewable energy and agriculture. 

Oikocredit Canada Support Association (OCSA) is led by a volunteer board of directors.

Though we know them professionally today, we dig deep and ask them some informal questions to get to know them better and learn more about their passions and hopes for the future.

Know your Director will be an ongoing blog series. 

This month we get to know OCSA director Carla Pellegrini.

Canadians seeking to infuse their portfolios with their values—be it mitigating climate change or promoting diversity and inclusion—have a smorgasbord of investments to choose from, and the universe is expanding. Call it sustainable investing’s big bang.

A study from the Responsible Investing Association of Canada (RIA) showed that 28 new responsible investing (RI) mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched in the first quarter of this year alone. Another 14 were introduced in the second quarter, making 42 for the first half of 2022. That’s on top of the 77 new RI funds launched in 2021. And no shortage of money is being allocated to them, with about $4.1-billion in net inflows in sustainable funds in the first half of this year.

Read the article published in Globe and Mail.

FinDev Canada’s 2021 annual report, “Supporting a sustainable and inclusive recovery through the private sector,” demonstrates a continued effort to generate lasting impact in developing countries struggling to recover from the economic and social consequences COVID-19. With a total investment portfolio of just over $479 million, Canada’s development finance institute is increasing its investment with innovative ways to support the private sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Under the leadership of CEO Lori Kerr, appointed in 2021, FinDev Canada launched its Climate Change Strategy, which articulates the institution’s efforts to build a low-carbon portfolio that enables climate adaption and resilience in developing countries.

Oikocredit published Annual Report 2021. In this report you can learn about the financial results for 2021 and reports on a successful year of rebuilding and rebalancing after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.