Initial statement on the complaint raised against Oikocredit with the OECD Guidelines National Contact Point in the Netherlands

Oikocredit International (Oikocredit) is aware that a complaint against the cooperative has been raised with the National Contact Point (NCP) for implementing the OECD Guidelines in the Netherlands. We have proactively reached out to NCP and offered our full cooperation.

We were founded as a social impact investor 47 years ago and have since remained fully dedicated to social impact investing.

We believe that if we want to influence change, we must remain active in Cambodia. That is why we have carefully chosen to engage with only nine out of the 84 licensed MFIs in Cambodia, where we apply strict due diligence and monitoring standards. We actively leverage our influence over our partners, seeking to improve their practices. In Cambodia, we have taken an active part in sector-wide initiatives to improve lending practices and improve financial literacy through awareness raising campaigns. Together with like-minded stakeholders, we helped to pave the path for mandatory regulation of lending practices in Cambodia. It entails important measures to ensure client protection from overindebtedness and applies to the entire financial sector.

Oikocredit has established strict policies, processes and procedures for due diligence, monitoring and reporting. We use tools developed based on globally accepted standards, such as the Universal Standards for Social Performance Management of the Social Performance Task Force and the Client Protection Principles first promoted by the SMART Campaign.

Oikocredit continuously monitors the performance and progress of the partners it supports. We regularly monitor their financial performance and a defined set of social indicators. In addition, we require the annual updating of the Environmental, Social and Governance Scorecard for all our active partners. We monitor the market and sector developments in the countries where we operate. We do this through regular contact with other investors and with national coordinating bodies/associations such as the association of microfinance institutions and regulators.

Oikocredit has been in contact with Fian Germany and the two NGOs, highlighting the necessity of a broader stakeholder dialogue that would include key stakeholders in Cambodian microfinance.  

We are fully committed to facing today’s challenges in the Cambodian microfinance sector, finding ways to improve it, and knowing that our work is of added value to those who need it most.