Oikocredit publishes its annual report for 2019
02 April | 2020 Today we published our annual report which informs investors and other stakeholders about our financial performance from the past year. full storyMessage from the Managing Director: “Working together through uncertain times”
26 March | 2020 Thos Gieskes, Managing Director of Oikocredit, has the following message for Oikocredit’s stakeholders. full storyOikocredit announces 2019 results and partner satisfaction [press release]
19 March | 2020 Today Oikocredit announced its annual results for 2019. The results reveal an improved financial performance and steady growth in the cooperative’s development finance portfolio. full storyOikocredit reports positive results and partner satisfaction
19 March | 2020 Amersfoort, the Netherlands – Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit today published its annual results for 2019. The cooperative has made good headway in streamlining its business model, maintained investor confidence and received positive feedback from the organisations it finances. full story
Oikocredit and the novel coronavirus (Covid-19)
13 March | 2020 As the coronavirus pandemic develops, there is increasing uncertainty about its consequences. We’re seeing lives and livelihoods affected across the world, in both economically rich and poor countries. full story€ 1 million investment in ACE clean cooking
12 March | 2020 Oikocredit has made a € 1 million loan to African Clean Energy (ACE), a Certified B Corporation and social enterprise, to support the expansion of business operations in Uganda. full storyOikocredit invests € 1 million in African Clean Energy (ACE) to support clean cooking and rural electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa
12 March | 2020 Amersfoort, the Netherlands – Social impact investor Oikocredit has made a € 1 million convertible loan to African Clean Energy, a Certified B Corporation and social enterprise, to support the expansion of business operations in Uganda. full story
No development without risk [interview]
10 March | 2020 After being a shareholder for five years, Oikocredit recently exited from the Zambian aquaculture company Yalelo. We spoke to Albert Hofsink, non-executive member of Yalelo’s board of directors, and Evert Ludding, Oikocredit’s Equity Manager. full storyOn the trail of cocoa
19 February | 2020 In west Ghana, Oikocredit’s recent study tour accompanies the cocoa farmer Paul Bukuroh Appiah to a place where chocolate has its origins. Corinna Groß, PR Officer at Oikocredit’s support association Baden-Württemberg in Germany, shares her journey with us. She brings the tour to life and sees first-hand how Oikocredit’s partner Fedco makes life a little better for the people in the small village of Pieso. full storyFair is when all benefit
04 February | 2020 Once a year, Oikocredit brings together a partner and investors in its annual road show. This time around, it was the turn of Athanas Matheka, co-founder of Greenforest Foods Limited in Kenya. full storyVolunteers and staff meet our partners in Ghana
27 January | 2020 A group of Oikocredit volunteers and staff have travelled from Europe and North America to Ghana for our 2020 study tour, taking place this week. Participants will visit financial inclusion partner organisations and end-clients, as well as a renewable energy partner. There will also be a visit to one of Oikocredit's cocoa partners. full storyMost read: our six biggest stories in 2019
21 January | 2020 We look back at the partner stories and announcements that were most popular on our website last year. full storyLooking back on a year’s journey and forward to 2020
07 January | 2020 Oikocredit’s Managing Director, Thos Gieskes, looks back on Oikocredit’s journey in 2019 and forward to the new year 2020. full storyMerry Christmas and Happy New Year
23 December | 2019 The Christmas holidays are drawing closer, and we can look back on an eventful year 2019. We want to thank you for your successful cooperation. Together we were able to push sustainable ... full storyOikocredit exits Zambian fish farm Yalelo
10 December | 2019 Oikocredit has exited its investment in the Zambian fish farm Yalelo Limited, after investing since 2014 and supporting its production growth from under 2,000 tonnes of tilapia fish in 2014 to 12,000 tonnes today. Yalelo is the largest sustainable aquaculture company in Africa. full storyOikocredit exits its investment in Zambian fish farm Yalelo
10 December | 2019 Social impact investor Oikocredit has supported Yalelo since 2014 as it became Africa’s largest sustainable aquaculture company. full story
Fraudulent app alert
05 December | 2019 Oikocredit would like to alert its partners, investors and the general public of the following fraudulent app: OikoCredit Loans full storyTea: good prospects from great heights
03 December | 2019 Private and public stakeholders in the Rwandan tea sector join forces to empower rural farmers – helped with finance from Oikocredit. That’s just my cup of tea. full storyMusoni: putting low-income clients first in the digital age
19 November | 2019 The digital revolution is expanding the range and delivery of financial services to those traditionally overlooked by banks, with electronic money models and new digital payment platforms. We look at the work of Oikocredit partner Musoni Kenya Microfinance, a pioneer in the provision of digital financial services, and how its cooperation with Oikocredit in client protection principles helps it to serve low-income clients when digital services are provided. full storySocial performance: "Choosing a partner is just the beginning"
08 November | 2019 The desire to achieve a positive social impact is the reason why people invest in Oikocredit. How does this goal become reality? We spoke to Oikocredit’s social performance team, Ging Ledesma, Kawien Ziedses des Plantes and Yolirruth Nuñez, about capacity building, trust, monitoring, the cooperative’s DNA and its successes. full storyLet’s give SMEs the recognition they deserve, in Mexico and all around the world
29 October | 2019 Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of job creation and retention, all around the world. Yet so many SMEs do not have access to the finance they need. We invite you to watch a short video from Oikocredit’s office in Mexico to see why Oikocredit supports SMEs. full story
Greenforest begins our European road show
09 October | 2019 Yesterday evening in Hamburg Oikocredit’s partner Greenforest, a leading Kenyan honey brand, began our annual road show, bringing our partner and investors together. full storyOikocredit invests in Ugandan tea processor Kayonza
01 October | 2019 Solidaridad helped community enterprise Kayonza Growers Tea Factory secure a USD 3.15 million loan from Oikocredit, for the benefit of Kayonza's 7,500 smallholder farmers. full storyUgandan tea processor secures USD 3.15 million investment
01 October | 2019 Utrecht/Amersfoort, the Netherlands - Solidaridad has facilitated USD 3.15 million of financing for Ugandan tea processor Kayonza Tea Factory in the form of a long-term loan from social impact ... full story
Colombian fintech Sempli raises USD 8 million in Series A round led by Oikocredit and Incofin CVSO
24 September | 2019 Leading online lender for Colombian small businesses Sempli reaches USD 24 million in fundraising after 2.5 years of operations full story
Oikocredit increases investment in Colombian fintech Sempli
24 September | 2019 Oikocredit has teamed with Incofin to lead a round raising USD 8 million of investment in fintech partner Sempli, to help grow thousands more small businesses in Colombia. full storyInterview: Oikocredit’s latest Impact Report
17 September | 2019 We interviewed Ging Ledesma, Oikocredit’s Director of Social Performance Innovation, to get behind some of the numbers from Oikocredit’s Impact Report 2019, and revisit fundamental questions about social impact. full storyOikocredit launches Impact Report 2019
10 September | 2019 Oikocredit’s Impact Report is now live and ready for download. The new publication replaces the Social and Environmental Performance Report and showcases data from across Oikocredit’s activities. full storyOikocredit signs KES 1 billion equity investment in Credit Bank
29 August | 2019 Nairobi, Kenya – Credit Bank PLC has signed a KES 1 billion equity investment with social impact investor Oikocredit today. The investment, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will see Oikocredit take a minority stake in Credit Bank full story
Boosting efforts across focus sectors and strengthening partners
31 July | 2019 As we head into the second half of the year, Oikocredit’s Managing Director, Thos Gieskes, brings us up to date on the cooperative’s latest developments. He explains how we are boosting efforts in our focus sectors and going beyond finance to broaden the ways in which we support our partners, aiming to strengthen their businesses and their networks.The interview also highlights this year’s annual general meeting (AGM) held in June and offers some insight into our upcoming Impact Report to be published in September. full story
Interview: Providing affordable housing loans for low and middle-income families in Cambodia
24 July | 2019 Sothany Chun is the CEO of Oikocredit partner First Finance plc, a financial institution which provides housing and home-improvement loans to people on low and middle-incomes in Cambodia. Oikocredit’s Support Association in the Netherlands recently met with her to discuss her background, work and how First Finance is helping to improve lives by increasing access to home ownership. full storyJessy’s Story: A Taste of Success in Zambia
10 July | 2019 “I am passionate about cooking and I taught myself how to cook. I also teach my staff. I buy local products and have a farmer who grows certain ingredients especially for me,” says Jessy Chipindo, restaurant owner and client of Oikocredit partner Entrepreneurs Financial Centre Zambia. full storyOikocredit annual general meeting votes on dividend and supervisory board
21 June | 2019 From 17 to 20 June 2019 delegates from Oikocredit member organisations and Oikocredit staff gathered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, for the annual general meeting (AGM) week. full storyBridging the Gender Gap…. At Home
13 June | 2019 Not so long ago, Ka Oting Villanueva, like many men in the central Philippines province of Negros Occidental, regarded a husband’s role as simply that of a provider. “He never used to help me with any of the household chores,” says his wife. “In fact, I don’t think it ever crossed his mind!” full storyHow do coffee cooperatives support smallholder coffee farmers in Peru?
29 May | 2019 Two billion cups of coffee served every day. 200 billion US dollars in sales every year. So why are some farmers happy when none of their children wish to follow them into the coffee-growing business? full storyOikocredit invests in Latin American responsible specialty coffee trader Caravela
22 May | 2019 The Netherlands / United Kingdom – Social impact investor Oikocredit has closed a US$ 4.7 million investment in Caravela Coffee, a specialty coffee trader that sources coffee in Latin America using direct trade principles. full story
Equity investment to foster sustainable coffee trading
22 May | 2019 Oikocredit has announced a US$ 4.7 million investment in Caravela Coffee, a Latin American responsible specialty coffee trader. full storyOikocredit expands its fintech portfolio in Mexico
02 May | 2019 Oikocredit has invested in Mexican fintech Ku-Bo Financiero to boost access to affordable finance for individuals across Mexico. full storyOikocredit invests in fintech KU-BO FINANCIERO, S.A. DE C.V., S.F.P. (Ku-Bo) to support people in Mexico without access to financial services
02 May | 2019 Amersfoort, the Netherlands / Mexico City, Mexico – Social impact investor Oikocredit has provided financing to Ku-Bo, a Mexican fintech specialised in crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending aimed at individuals within the medium and low socio-economic sector of the population with limited access to credit. full story
Oikocredit and MOCA join forces to strengthen cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire
16 April | 2019 Oikocredit and the Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA) project have signed a memorandum of understanding to support the sustainable development of smallholder cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire. full story