Oikocredit recently introduced a new capital-raising model in most of the countries where it attracts investments. The new model allows any eligible individual or organisation to invest directly in the cooperative. Oikocredit's Managing Director, Mirjam 't Lam, shares her insight on how the cooperative's new capital-raising model came to be.

The Kyazanga Farmers' Cooperative Society has witnessed remarkable business growth and enhanced profitability, thanks to the Innovative Finance for Improved Livelihoods (IFIL) project and the support of Oikocredit International Support Foundation (ISUP).

As a non-profit foundation, ISUP mobilizes grant funds to aid Oikocredit in its diverse activities within low-income countries. It also provides valuable assistance to Oikocredit's partners in those regions.

Oikocredit, a global cooperative and social impact investor, has long been committed to empowering marginalized communities through sustainable finance. Its partnership with IFIL is a significant stride in its mission. Together, they provide loans to small cooperatives like Kyazanga, fostering financial inclusion and bolstering resilience among the rural farming communities.

“For these organisations, which serve mainly women clients, it is especially important for women to be in decision-making roles,” she said.  

Adama explained the variance in approaches to women’s leadership and gender diversity among our organisations. “Some Oikocredit partners fully understand the importance of women’s leadership and gender diversity, whereas others may need convincing,” she said.  

Oikocredit’s work promoting gender diversity and women’s leadership is in the spotlight. FinDev Gateway, a knowledge platform for the global financial inclusion community, interviewed our Social Performance Analyst Adama Bah recently.

Oikocredit Canada Support Association (OCSA) is led by a volunteer board of directors.

Though we know them professionally today, we dig deep and ask them some informal questions to get to know them better and learn more about their passions and hopes for the future. 

This month we get to know Vaishali Dassani. 

Social purpose organizations, such as social enterprises, non-profits, charities and co‑operatives, are at the forefront of tackling Canada’s persistent social and environmental challenges, and they are key contributors to the Canadian economy. However, social purpose organizations face barriers and systemic biases that exist in the current finance ecosystem.

Recently, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, officially launched the $755 million Social Finance Fund, a groundbreaking, long-term initiative to advance the growth of the social finance market in Canada. Social innovation and social finance play a fundamental role in tackling persistent challenges like access to affordable housing, food insecurity, and poverty.

Building a portfolio of companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices is foundational to any sound approach to responsible investing. But good security-selection decisions are only half the battle. To drive meaningful and lasting progress towards our ESG goals, investors must adopt an active ownership mindset, which means engaging with companies on an ongoing basis to ensure they continuously strive to elevate their ESG performance.

Oikocredit published its Annual Report and financial statements for 2022, reporting on solid financial and social results and other achievements during the year.