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Investing in sustainable global development David Woods, Managing Director Victoria, 30 September 2015 Who we are • Pioneer in ethical investment and private financing for development • Since 1975, € 2.1 billion invested through 1,670 partner organizations • People, planet, profit approach to financing • Balance sheet today of nearly € 1 billion (approx. CAD 1.5 billion) • 300 staff in 40 countries • 53,000 shareholders • Investment in 792 partner organizations Microfinance today & in the future The world today • Poverty remains a worldwide issue • 1 billion financially excluded – gap between rich and poor growing larger each year • Conflict and political unrest continues to affect many countries • Food security a global challenge, smallholder farmers feeling it most • Environmental challenges • Fossil fuels • Energy shortages and outages • Climate change • Increased interest to tackle these issues and challenges • Technology is changing the human landscape at rapid speeds Sustainable development We contribute to sustainable development in several ways: • We invest in various different renewable energy projects – solar, hydro and biogas – through a specialist unit • We’ve taken considerable steps in implementing environmental sustainability into our business model and implemented an environmental policy in 2013 • We assess environmental impact as part of our due diligence process with all prospective partner organizations • We are a signatory of the 2014 Global Investor Statement on Climate Change • Our Agriculture unit focusses on financing organizations along the agricultural value chain. This is a way of reaching smallholder farmers. • We promote financial inclusion – a focus area of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDGs • SDGs were adopted earlier this week by the UN • 17 goals that break down into 169 targets • Access to financial services, including microfinance, is included as targets in goals such as: o “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” o “Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation” • Improving food security also defined as a goal Financial inclusion in a changing world The governments of low-income countries are increasingly targeting financial inclusion. Alternative economies develop to support this: • Mobile banking • Self help groups • Capacity building • Remittances • Savings • Insurance • Crowdfunding Finance plus – capacity building • Oikocredit was one of the first social investors to provide capacity building for partner organizations, starting in 2007. • Oikocredit takes the ‘finance plus’ approach: we provide capacity building and technical assistance in addition to providing credit. • Capacity building is used to train small cooperatives and their members in the elements of financial management, and in governance. More specialised services are also provided. Agriculture – the challenges • Food security: 2050 world population 9.1 billion • Food production would have to increase by 70% (from 2007 levels)1 • Boosting agricultural output of smallholder famers is important Their challenges include: 1.Lack of resources to increase output: fertilizers, seeds, techniques 2.Sporadic power supply 3.Climate change 4.No alternatives to generating income 5.No access to finance 1Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Food security – tackling new frontiers Oikocredit invests in initiatives which contribute to food security • SEKEM, Egypt • Yalelo, Zambia • Idepro, Bolivia Yalelo The world tomorrow: our 2020 goals • Our partners will reach 55 million people, 75% women • Oikocredit’s financing will reach 2.5 million clients • Four million jobs created • As a result of direct financing by Oikocredit, 125,000 households will gain access to clean energy • Continue to reach more low-income countries • Double our portfolio outstanding in Africa • Higher assets and inflow, leading to 50% growth in our portfolio • Grow our agriculture portfolio to € 200 million (CAD 300 million) We all have a part to play Thank you "Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves." - Pope Francis Disclaimer This document was produced by Oikocredit, Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A. (Oikocredit International) with the greatest of care and to the best of its knowledge and belief at the time of writing. The opinions expressed in this document are those of Oikocredit International at the time of writing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Oikocredit International provides no guarantee with regard to its content and completeness and does not accept any liability for losses which might arise from making use of this information. This document is provided for information purposes only and is for the exclusive use of the recipient. It does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to buy or sell financial instruments or banking services and does not release the recipient from exercising his/her own judgment. The recipient is in particular recommended to check that the information provided is in line with his /her own circumstances with regard to any legal, regulator, tax or other consequences, if necessary with the help of a professional advisor. This document may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the written permission of Oikocredit International. It is expressly not intended for persons who, due to their nationality or place of residence, are not permitted access to such information under local law. Every investment involves risk, especially with regard to fluctuations in value and return. It should be noted that historical returns and financial market scenarios are no guarantee of future performance. Investments in foreign currencies involve the additional risk that the foreign currency might lose value against the investor‘s reference currency. Oikocredit International is a cooperative society with limited liability (coöperatieve vereniging met uitgesloten aansprakelijkheid) under the laws of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.