Making a difference: our Impact Report 2021
September 20 | 2021 We interviewed Elikanah Ng'ang'a, Oikocredit’s Social Performance and Capacity Building Officer for Africa, to get behind the numbers in our latest Impact Report 2021. He provides us with insights into the many aspects of his work supporting our partners and the difference Oikocredit is making. full storyImpact Report 2021 is live!
September 15 | 2021 Oikocredit just published its Impact Report 2021. In this report you can learn all about Oikocredit’s social impact: how we measure it, what this looks like in our focus sectors and regions, our capacity building support and more. full storyCarlos and Esteban’s story: Securing a better future
September 03 | 2021 How can access to finance help dreams become a reality? We follow the story of Carlos Cajas and his son, Esteban, who established a family business that transformed their lives and positively impacted their community. full storyQ2 2021 quarterly report: Performing acceptably in an unpredictable environment
August 23 | 2021 Four times a year Oikocredit publishes key facts and figures on the previous quarter. Here we provide our investors and others with additional background context on developments during the second quarter of 2021. full storyOvercoming Covid-19 challenges in India [interview part 2]
August 20 | 2021 India, the second most populous country in the world, has been hit incredibly hard by Covid-19. In the second part of this interview with Gouri Sankar, the Managing Director of Oikocredit’s subsidiary in India (Maanaveeya), we learn about: how Maanaveeya has been supporting its partners and how our partners have been serving their clients. We also learn about Maanaveeya’s outlook for the near future. full storyOvercoming Covid-19 challenges in India [interview part 1]
August 19 | 2021 India, the second most populous country in the world, has been hit incredibly hard by Covid-19. What is the situation like now? Has Oikocredit’s subsidiary in India (Maanaveeya) been able to cope? What about our staff and our partners and their clients? Gouri Sankar, Managing Director of Maanaveeya, answers these questions and more. full storyOikocredit appoints new Regional Equity Manager for Asia
August 19 | 2021 Oikocredit has appointed Anirudh Sarda as Equity Manager for investments in Asia. full storyOikocredit’s work and plans in Brazil
August 12 | 2021 Oikocredit’s office in Brazil is one of several country offices the global cooperative has in Latin America and the Caribbean. We recently interviewed our Brazil Country Manager, Nicolas Viedma, to talk about some of the most pressing issues and plans for Oikocredit in the country. full storyOikocredit invests € 1.6 million in Comafruits to support Mali mango value chain
August 03 | 2021 The loan to the mango processing company will sustain up to 500 jobs and support the work of 3,000 mango farmers in Southern Mali full storyPowerGen partners with Oikocredit and others to connect 55,000 people to electricity in rural Nigeria
July 22 | 2021 The electricity will be provided by 28 distributed renewable energy (DRE) systems, designed as solar PV and battery-powered mini-grids. full storyOikocredit makes interim changes to its Managing Board
July 20 | 2021 Oikocredit will make two interim changes to its Managing Board while the cooperative continues its search for a new Managing Director. full storyOikocredit’s new investment in Unaitas will support farmer cooperatives in Kenya
July 15 | 2021 Oikocredit is providing a new loan to Unaitas, the fastest growing savings cooperative in Kenya with over 378,000 members. full storyOikocredit appoints new Regional Equity Managers
July 08 | 2021 Oikocredit has appointed two new Equity Managers, Valeria Gelsi and Sébastien Rigaud, with responsibility respectively for Latin America and Africa full storyA better life in the cooperative
July 02 | 2021 On the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay), 3 July, international cooperative and social impact investor Oikocredit is celebrating the principles of solidarity, cooperation and community – and its work with cooperatives worldwide. full storyOikocredit is ready for the future [interview]
June 28 | 2021 With Oikocredit’s Managing Director, Thos Gieskes, leaving later this year, we wanted to sit down with him to discuss his time at Oikocredit. We also recently held our Annual General Meeting, making this a good time to reflect on what Oikocredit was like when Thos first started, where the cooperative is today, where it’s headed and how the current and new strategy are connected to it all. full storyOikocredit invests in Fin’Elle to support women entrepreneurs in Côte d'Ivoire
June 24 | 2021 Oikocredit’s loan to Fin’Elle will help provide microfinance and mesofinance loans to 10,000 households in Côte d'Ivoire. full storyLooking for our new Managing Director
June 23 | 2021 Oikocredit is looking for an inspirational and visionary Managing Director to lead our impact into the future. full storySpecialty coffee making an impact
June 16 | 2021 Oikocredit partner Caravela Coffee is driven by two things: promoting delicious specialty coffee and supporting low-income communities in Latin America. The combination of these two elements has resulted in the support of 4,000 smallholder coffee farmers and a tastier market. full storyOikocredit holds 45th annual general meeting
June 14 | 2021 Last week Oikocredit held its 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, with members and others participating through a web-based conferencing and electronic voting system. full storyOikocredit invests in Grace and Mercy to expand lending to women in rural communities across Nigeria
June 10 | 2021 This is Oikocredit’s first loan to Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative, a Nigerian microfinance institution (MFI) supporting marginalised and economically disadvantaged people. full storyOikocredit invests in FCMB Limited to support low-income communities in Nigeria
June 03 | 2021 This is Oikocredit’s first investment in First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited – a bank that focuses on poverty alleviation, empowerment and environmental sustainability in Nigeria. full storyBuilding resiliency among partners [blog]
May 31 | 2021 Many of our partner organisations in Southeast Asia have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but they are learning how to become more resilient. This blog by Tes Pilapil, Oikocredit’s Regional Director of Southeast Asia, shares about how our partners are practicing solidarity and strengthening their organisations via Oikocredit’s digital webinars. full storyOikocredit invests in cashew cooperative, supporting nearly 5,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire
May 27 | 2021 Cashew cooperative Cavica received its first international loan of EUR1.5 million from Oikocredit. The loan will support the work of 4,900 farmers in the northern rural areas of Côte d'Ivoire. full storyQ1 2021 quarterly report: Steady recovery
May 25 | 2021 Four times a year Oikocredit publishes key facts and figures on the previous quarter. Here we provide our investors and others with additional background context on developments during the first quarter of 2021. full storyCarmiña’s story: Building a family business
May 14 | 2021 We meet with Carmiña López who we also highlight in our Annual Report 2020. Carmiña is an entrepreneur with a family business that has grown with funding from Cooprogreso, one of our financial inclusion partners in Ecuador. full storyProtecting smallholder farmers and building resilience [interview part 2]
May 03 | 2021 To protect food security and combat rural poverty, Oikocredit joined the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP). In the second part of this interview, Ging Ledesma, Director of Social Performance and Innovation at Oikocredit, shares about how Oikocredit is contributing to SSNUP with weather index insurance and the price risk management programme. full storyProtecting smallholder farmers and building resilience [interview part 1]
May 03 | 2021 As the agriculture sector and food security are threatened, low-income communities suffer. Ging Ledesma, Director of Social Performance and Innovation at Oikocredit, shares about these issues and how Oikocredit and others are responding with the Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Programme (SSNUP). full storyResilience, solidarity, loyalty: Oikocredit publishes its Annual Report 2020
April 15 | 2021 Today Oikocredit published its Annual Report 2020. While effects of Covid-19 had implications for Oikocredit’s income, assets and portfolio, business continuity is secure – thanks to investors’ loyalty. full storyMaanaveeya awarded silver medal for ‘Investing in People’
April 12 | 2021 Maanaveeya, Oikocredit’s subsidiary in India, recently won SKOCH Group’s Environment and Sustainability silver medal and Order of Merit certificate for its work of ‘Investing in people’ in India. full story
Fintech Avanti Finance raises US$ 26 million in Series A funding round led by Oikocredit and others
April 08 | 2021 Social impact investor Oikocredit’s investment in Avanti Finance will help accelerate credit and other financial products to 100 million unserved and underserved households in India. full storyManaging Board Change at Oikocredit
April 08 | 2021 Petra Lens, Director of People & Change, has decided to leave Oikocredit for personal reasons to pursue a career change. She will continue in her position until 1 September. full storyInterview: Swift action safeguarded results
April 06 | 2021 Oikocredit is getting ready to publish its Annual Report 2020, so we sat down with Mirjam ‘t Lam, Director of Finance & Risk at Oikocredit. In the interview, Mirjam gives us an overview of the cooperative’s financial results and shares about joining Oikocredit in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic. full storyOikocredit invests in Banco Caribe to promote sustainable development of SMEs in Dominican Republic
April 01 | 2021 Oikocredit’s investment of RD$150 million (USD 2.64 million) in Banco Caribe is the first international private subordinate loan that the Dominican Republic-based bank has obtained. full storyFinancial results for 2020 reflect resilience and solidarity
March 30 | 2021 Today Oikocredit announced its 2020 financial results. While effects of Covid-19 had implications for Oikocredit’s income, assets and portfolio, business continuity is secure – thanks to investors’ loyalty. full storyQ4 2020 quarterly report: Proving our resilience
March 30 | 2021 Four times a year Oikocredit publishes key facts and figures on the previous quarter. Here we provide our investors and others with additional background context on developments during the fourth quarter of 2020. full story‘I’m not frightened anymore’: supporting women’s empowerment
March 16 | 2021 In honour of International Women’s Day, we had Christina (Nina) Alff, from Oikocredit Support Association Baden-Württemberg, share her thoughts on “women’s empowerment” in this blog. Nina spends a lot of her time and expertise raising awareness on gender equality and shares about how this topic relates to Oikocredit’s work. full storyChange to Oikocredit’s Managing Board
March 15 | 2021 Thos Gieskes, Managing Director, will be leaving Oikocredit, having announced that he will explore new opportunities. Thos will continue to work for the cooperative until 1 October. full storyThe eyes of Oikocredit
March 10 | 2021 They have visited 184 partner organisations and met 800 people worldwide for Oikocredit International, more than any Oikocredit staff member. Dutch photographer couple, Pauline and Wim Opmeer, are the eyes of Oikocredit. full storyOikocredit’s women that empower women
March 08 | 2021 Today is International Women's Day! Gender equality is an important aspect of Oikocredit’s vision of a global, just society where all people are empowered with the choices they need to create a life of dignity. full storyDreaming of coffee trees
February 22 | 2021 The harvest promises to be good for coffee farmers who are members of the Chajul cooperative in Guatemala. Asociación Chajulense Va’l Vaq Quyol (Chajul) has organic and Fairtrade certifications and is always there when members need support. Chajul is one of Oikocredit's oldest partner organisations, and a good example of solidarity and sustainability. full storyWake up and smell the coffee
February 04 | 2021 Price volatility ranks alongside climate change as one of the most significant risks faced by smallholder coffee farmers in Latin America. Through an Oikocredit-led capacity building programme, smallholder farmer associations have been able to strengthen their price risk management (PRM) skills. full storyMeet our Côte d'Ivoire SME entrepreneurs
January 21 | 2021 Oikocredit supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the financing of SME lending partners. Here we invite you to take a closer look at our work, through two of our partners and their Côte d'Ivoire SME loan customers: Jean Koffi and Felix Kanga Yao. full storyCooperative conversations: with Peter Ohligschläger of the Members’ Council
January 12 | 2021 We recently had a conversation with Peter Ohligschläger from Oikocredit’s West German Support Association, and one of the latest members of our Members’ Council (MC). He talks about what it means to be a members’ council, cooperative values such as hearing the voice of the members, and about his hopes for the MC and Oikocredit. full storyThis testing year has proved Oikocredit’s resilience, our partners’ courage and our investors’ trust
January 04 | 2021 Oikocredit’s Managing Director, Thos Gieskes, reflects on one of the most challenging years in our cooperative’s history and considers what 2021 may bring. full storyInterview: How Oikocredit supports small-scale cocoa producers in West Africa
December 23 | 2020 Cocoa farming is a key source of livelihoods in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. We interviewed Yves Komaclo, Oikocredit’s Investment Manager for West Africa, to catch up on Oikocredit’s support for the cocoa sector. full storyStichting Oikocredit International Share Foundation ceases its offering in Canada
December 22 | 2020 Stichting Oikocredit International Share Foundation (OISF) has ceased offering depository receipts in Canada. This means that investors in Canada will not be able to make additional investments. ... full story
€ 7 million to support smallholder cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire
December 17 | 2020 Oikocredit’s recent new loans will help with exporting the 2020-21 cocoa production for up to 35,000 smallholder farmers. full storyFlowers and meal deliveries: how Indians on low incomes use loans to grow
December 15 | 2020 Vaishadi Rahul Hingmire and Asha Ashok Bhoite are business owners and clients of Indian credit cooperative Annapurna Mahila Coop Credit Society. We look at how the two women have used loans for the benefit of their businesses and the people around them. full storyOikocredit expands its commitment to Mexican SMEs with investment in Aspiria
December 04 | 2020 Social impact investor Oikocredit has acquired a minority stake in Aspiria, an online SME lender in Mexico full storyWhy are SMEs important to Oikocredit?
November 25 | 2020 Hans Perk, Oikocredit’s Regional Director Africa and Global Agricultural Sector Specialist, talks here about the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and how Oikocredit supports them. full story