Impact Report 2024: Oikocredit partners support financial inclusion for 53 million people

From Asia to Latin America, Oikocredit has increased its impact. Our social impact partners now help improve financial inclusion for 53 million clients, our Impact Report 2024 shows. By comparison, our partners boosted financial inclusion for 42.2 million people in the previous year.

As before, the majority (87%) of our partners’ clients are women, and 65% are in rural areas.

The Impact Report 2024 is published today. It outlines how Oikocredit targets social impact while safeguarding the environment alongside the aim of generating fair financial returns. Our work focuses on the goals of supporting people with low incomes to build better livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of their communities across the three focus areas of financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy.

Across 33 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, our investing expands access to both financing and non-financial support, including by helping partner organisations develop and strengthen their skills and processes. In turn, our partners provide support and opportunities to their clients, members, suppliers and employees. 

The Impact Report 2024 also explains Oikocredit’s ongoing contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Some of the major highlights from the report include:

• Oikocredit’s partners now expand access to financial services for 53 million people, 87% of these are women and 65% are in rural areas
• Our partners reach approximately 4.29 million micro, small and medium enterprises
• Creating jobs is a main goal for 81.8% of financial inclusion partners
• 89% of our agriculture partners now offer environmental awareness training
• A total of 422,564 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been offset through our renewable energy portfolio
• 170,000 households have access to clean energy
• Our capacity building work supports 85 organisations
• Our own carbon footprint stands at 891 tonnes. We offset it with Fairtrade Gold Standard carbon credits via the FairClimateFund.

A good indication of our impact comes from people who have benefitted through our partnerships. Nearly three-fourths (74%) of the more than 41,600 people participating in our 2023 Client Self-Perception Survey said Oikocredit’s financial inclusion partners had a positive influence on their wellbeing. Twenty-five per cent responded neutrally. More than half said their income had improved over the past 12 months, and most of those who had savings said their savings grew over the same period.

Kawien Ziedses des Plantes, Director of Strategy & Sustainable Impact said, “Our Impact Report 2024 shows how our work is more relevant than ever as we near the completion of five decades of social impact investing. People are facing multiple threats to their livelihoods and ecosystems from political and economic instability and climate change. Those with low incomes are among the most affected. That is why we work and partner with organisations that support low-income communities in building resilience and creating meaningful change.” 

See the details in our Impact Report 2024