Oikocredit 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 storyCall for Supervisory Board applications
November 23 | 2020 Oikocredit is seeking skilled and experienced individuals to be appointed to its Supervisory Board during its annual general meeting to be held in June 2021. full storyCooperative conversations: with Anita Clemons of the Members’ Council
November 18 | 2020 We recently had a conversation with Anita Clemons from the Presbyterian Foundation, one of the latest members of the Oikocredit Members’ Council (MC). She talks about what it means to be a members’ council, cooperative values such as transparency, about her hopes for the MC and the Oikocredit cooperative. full storyQ3 quarterly report: Maintaining stability
November 12 | 2020 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 third quarter of 2020. full storyMirjam ‘t Lam joins Oikocredit as Director of Finance & Risk
November 09 | 2020 Mirjam ‘t Lam is joining social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit as Director of Finance & Risk, effective 16 November 2020. She joins Oikocredit from African investment company... full storyCelebrating 45 years of Oikocredit [video]
November 04 | 2020 Today, Oikocredit celebrates its 45th anniversary of a mission to invest in people on low incomes around the world. full storyDoes your investment portfolio have “the quan”?
November 02 | 2020 Eduard Walkers, Oikocredit Regional Director Latin America and Caribbean, looks at what is needed for sustainable development finance and takes inspiration from an unusual source: the film Jerry Maguire. He proposes a “quan” scale of investment levels and asks: does your investment portfolio have the quan? full storyOikocredit invests in Brazilian fintech BizCapital as part of a USD 15 million funding round
October 27 | 2020 Social impact investor Oikocredit has acquired a minority stake in BizCapital, a leading online SME lender in Brazil full storyHow Oikocredit is supporting smallholder farmers through the pandemic [video]
October 14 | 2020 In this short video you will see how with the help of our partner (Unocace) the Oikocredit solidarity fund is supporting cocoa farmers thorough the pandemic, and our partners are showered with gratitude and blessings. full storyOikocredit, Karongi and Muganza Kivu Tea Factories to produce two million high-quality tea seedlings in Rwanda
October 06 | 2020 Most of the funding for this project comes from investors from Oikocredit’s West German Support Association, showing yet again how close smallholder farmers are to Oikocredit investors’ hearts. full storyA stitch in time [video]
September 25 | 2020 Through partners like U&I Microfinance Bank, Oikocredit’s coronavirus solidarity fund is reaching those who most need it. Like Loice Nyambura, the owner of a small tailoring business in Nairobi, Kenya. full storyBehind the Impact Report 2020 [interview]
September 15 | 2020 We interviewed Kawien Ziedses des Plantes, Oikocredit’s Global Social Performance Specialist, to find out what’s behind the recently published Impact Report 2020. After 45 years, we still see Oikocredit’s sharp focus on end-clients and its determined drive for continuous improvement. full storyOikocredit launches its Impact Report 2020
September 08 | 2020 Oikocredit’s Impact Report is now live and ready for downloading. Our latest report showcases our social impact data from across all Oikocredit’s activities. full story[BLOG] Covid-19: a driving force for digital financial inclusion
September 04 | 2020 By Vincent van Dugteren, Global Financial Inclusion Sector Specialist full storyGroup lending: Cristiane and Helena show how it works
August 27 | 2020 A woman finds herself in crisis and is supported by another making a success of her business. In this story of solidarity amongst women you can discover how group lending works, and through our Brazilian partner BPCS, how Oikocredit serves hard to reach people. full story
Q2 quarterly report: Responding with resilience
August 20 | 2020 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 2020. full storyHow does Covid-19 affect our social performance and innovation work? [video]
August 14 | 2020 We interviewed Ging Ledesma, Oikocredit’s Director of Social Performance Innovation, to find out how the Covid-19 pandemic affects our social performance and innovation work. full storySPTF and CERISE take over Smart Campaign implementation resources
August 05 | 2020 After a decade of successful work in advancing principles for client protection, the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) announced that the Smart Campaign would come to an end. The implementation... full storyHow does Covid-19 impact on our investment operations? [video]
August 04 | 2020 We interviewed Bart van Eyk, Oikocredit’s Director of Investments to find out how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting our investment operations. full storyLaunch of CEO Forum for Oikocredit Partners in Africa
July 28 | 2020 CEOs with a dedication to continuous improvement, a passion for people and an appreciation of the extraordinary challenges of our time, came together online last week to launch Oikocredit’s forum for CEOs in Africa. The launch of this programme comes at a time when it is becoming evident that the situation brought on by Covid-19 is not something that will be resolved in a matter of a few months. full story