In April 2017, Oikocredit will welcome Thos Gieskes as Oikocredit International's new managing director in the Netherlands. Thos brings almost 30 years of experience in the international social business and finance space, most recently as CEO of Rabobank in Australia and, prior to that, as CEO of Rabobank in Chile. Thos will be taking over from interim managing director, Ging Ledesma, who  returns to her full time role as investor relations and social performance director at Oikocredit International in the Netherlands. 

This week, we'll be celebrating International Women’s Day and Fairtrade Fortnight with our much-loved partner, Divine Chocolate.  Alongside their other country-wide Fairtrade Fortnight events, they will host a celebration of the amazing power of chocolate.  Bringing together cocoa farmers, agriculturalist, investors, academics, politicians, manufacturers, supply chain managers, retailers and chocolate lovers we will be exploring how important chocolate is to the lives of women all over the world - whether it is how someone earns their living and puts food on their table, or a treat we look forward to at the end of a hard day.

Between 23rd -24th March, the UK team will also be attending one of the world's leading social impact investment events for institutional investors, which is being held for the first time in London. This will bring together charitable foundations and trusts such as Esmeé Fairburn, MacArthur, the Big Issue Group and Big Society Capital as well as impact wealth management teams from institutions such as Barclays Wealth, Morgan Stanley and KPMG. 

At Oikocredit, we believe that institutional partnerships are paramount to tackling the UN's 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 2030, whilst also providing Oikocredit with the much-needed capital we need to grow our social mission.

Throughout 2017, we look forward to bringing you updates about the events we attend to raise awareness of the benefits of investing in Oikocredit UK & Ireland. 

Despite Storm Dorris' best efforts, Oikocredit UK & Ireland's Archie Pearson recently attended Scotland's largest sustainable investment and finance event in Edinburgh. The conference was organised by UKSIF (UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association) and was an excellent opportunity to develop Oikocredit's profile in Scotland and generate new capital-raising avenues.

Oikocredit UK & Ireland's Monica Middleton will also visit Scotland on 16th and 17th March to present Oikocredit's investment opportunity to prospective organisations and individuals.  Organised by our Scottish contact, David Cousland of the Fair Finance Agency, and kindly hosted by one of Oikocredit's founder-members, the Church of Scotland. 

If you know of anyone who might be interested in investing in Oikocredit and attending one of these presentations, please email davidc.cousland@gmail.com

On May 21st, Archie Pearson returns to Scotland for Edinburgh's Heart & Soul 2017 event, which will be held in the Princes Street Gardens. From our market stall, we will be exhibiting the work of Oikocredit to over 60 churches, charities and faith-based organisations, with over 5,000 visitors expected to attend throughout the afternoon.

Please pop by and say hello!

During 2017 the Oikocredit UK & Ireland team will a selection of our partners and  their end clients in three very different countries. 

Each year, Oikocredit publishes comprehensive annual Social Performance Reports on social and environmental outcomes alongside our Annual Report & Accounts.  But we also believe in visiting the field to learn about how your capital is really put to use on the ground and we support the UN's sustainable development goals. 

We'll be publishing a new story on the blog page of our UK website each month and in our quarterly newsletters.

We do hope you enjoy these pieces, aimed at bringing your investments to life a little!