Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, the cooperative’s lending and investing in support of partner organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean achieved portfolio growth and solid improvements in credit quality and social performance. In a difficult macro-environment, closing the year with a positive financial result of € 8.5 million was a fair outcome given the current volatility and uncertainties.

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

The fourth quarter of 2022 concluded an eventful year for Oikocredit during which we made good progress in important respects. Approval by the members’ Extraordinary General Meeting in October of proposed changes to the Articles of Association was a landmark that will enable our cooperative to implement the new capital-raising model in the coming months.

Another key event was the sale of our equity investment in Fusion as part of the microfinance institution’s initial public offering on India’s National Stock Exchange. This equity exit marked the culmination of more than a decade of our support for Fusion’s growth to become a large and successful provider of financial services to more than 2.9 million mainly rural low-income women.

On 15 November 2022, Fusion Microfinance Ltd, a longtime Oikocredit partner, completed an initial public offering (IPO) listing in India.

It was the next step in a major success story and a constructive partnership between Oikocredit and Fusion, a journey that began in 2010.

Fusion now operates in 18 Indian states, focusing on rural and semi-urban areas where 92% of its clients are based. Nearly all its clients are women. Fusion is presently the second-largest microfinance institution (MFI) in India in terms of gross loan portfolio. Since 2015, Fusion has grown its client base from 200,000 to 2.9 million. 

For a closer look at Fusion, its end clients and at the larger microfinance situation in India, we spoke with Anirudh Sarda, Equity Manager for Asia at Oikocredit.

As of 1 April 2023, all depository receipts issued by OISF and held by existing investors in Canada have been exchanged for participations issued by Oikocredit. Participations are non-voting equity instruments governed by Dutch law. Due to this exchange, all existing investors in Canada are now direct investors in the international cooperative. 

Existing investors in Canada can continue to hold their existing investment(s), and it will continue to support Oikocredit’s mission. If investors do not want to continue to be invested in Oikocredit via participations, they can request a redemption of their investment. 

A major report published recently says Canada lacks adequate rules around investing in an era of climate change.

The report, released by Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a body of financial institutions supported by the UN, ranks Canada as “a low-regulation jurisdiction” that relies on voluntary measures to align business investment with responsible climate action. PRI’s report recommends that Canada revise its laws to make climate concerns part of investors’ legal obligations.

PRI found that Canada lags behind other nations when it comes to regulating how pension funds and other asset managers consider the sustainability impacts of their investments. 

Oikocredit published its Impact Report 2022. In this report you can learn about Oikocredit's social impact - how we measure it, and what this looks like in our focus sectors and regions, our capacity building and more