Oikocredit is one of the world’s largest sources of private funding to the microfinance sector. We also provide credit to trade cooperatives, fair trade organizations and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world.
We lend working capital to microfinance institutions (MFIs) all over the world. In turn, they dispense life-changing loans to the poor and disadvantaged, with a special emphasis on rural areas and women.
We offer a dual return to our investors: financial and social. In addition to earning modest financial returns, investors are secure in the knowledge that their money is being used to fight poverty, promote fair trade and respect our planet’s natural resources.
Creating positive social impact is the key to our mission and a driving force behind all our activities. Since 1975, Oikocredit has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of families in over 70 different countries.
To assess our impact on those lives, we rely on formal assessments of social performance, as well as case studies of individual borrowers who have turned their lives around.
Latest Figures
PRIORITIES
Empowering Women
In all that we do, Oikocredit places a special emphasis on empowering women in the developing world. Microfinance provides an unprecedented opportunity for women to take control of their own destinies.
The majority of the world’s poor are women. Restricted access to education, property and economic rights severely limit their opportunities. Women and their informal businesses are also restricted in their access to credit and financial services.
Providing credit to women has a multiplier effect on society. Women who are able to generate their own income can support their families and enhance their communities – providing housing, sanitary facilities, health services, education and nutritional food.
Throughout the world, women have proven to be the most reliable credit risk for microfinance lenders. Oikocredit is dedicated to advancing the ability of women to break the cycle of poverty through their own initiative.
Fair Trade
In addition to other sectors such as microfinance, Oikocredit supports fair trade organizations through a combination of medium and long term loans, credit lines, equity investments, and capacity building.
The fair trade movement takes a market-based approach towards empowering local producers. Fair trade organizations promote social justice through fair payments to producers and employees, long-term trading relationships and environmentally sustainable production methods.
All applicants must meet Oikocredit’s specific criteria based on internationally recognized standards.
Respecting our Planet
To be truly effective, environmental conservation must take into account the development needs of the community. Sustainable use means people earning a living in ways that protect and preserve the natural resources they rely on.
To promote sustainable use, Oikocredit is working together with UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program. The UNESCO approach recognizes 531 sites in 105 countries as “biosphere reserves”. These are living laboratories where new ways of managing nature and human activity can be tested and demonstrated. In a biosphere reserve, fully protected areas are combined with sustainable development zones.
But development cannot be environmentally sustainable if it is not financially sustainable. That’s where Oikocredit comes in. With the support of UNESCO, we’re piloting a project in Latin America to provide credit and technical support for business ideas promoting sustainable use within recognized biosphere reserves. Another example is the Barefoot Power in Australia, a business that assists rural communities manage their energy resources.
