MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Oikocredit, Opportunity International Commit $100m to Education Finance in Low-income Countries

Opportunity International, a US-based nonprofit providing microfinance and other services in 30 countries, and Oikocredit, a Netherlands-based impact investor, recently announced a three-year partnership valued at USD 100 million. Through increased funding of financial institutions partnered with Opportunity International’s EduFinance program, Opportunity International and Oikocredit aim to “increase access to and quality of education in low-income countries.” Oikocredit will supply the funding, and both organizations will provide training and other non-financial support to financial institutions serving low-income households to increase their provision of school-improvement loans as well as microloans to help families pay school fees. The initial focus is to be on Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda with plans to expand across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Based in the UK, EduFinance is a unit of Opportunity that seeks to increase access to and the quality of education in developing countries by providing loans and technical assistance to microfinance institutions lending to students, their families and educational institutions. As of November 2021, EduFinance reports having provided USD 442 million in loans via 85 financial institutions, serving 9 million students and 1,603 schools.

Founded in 1975, Oikocredit invests debt and equity in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy in Africa, Asia and Latin America with the goal “to invest responsibly… to improve the quality of life of low-income people or communities in a sustainable way.” As of June 2021, Oikocredit has investments valued at EUR 835 million (USD 969 million) deployed via 529 partners worldwide.

By Zachary DeLuca, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Direct contact with Oikocredit

Opportunity International press release
https://opportunity.org/news/press-releases/opportunity-international-and-oikocredit-announce

Previous MicroCapital article on Oikocredit
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-oikocredit-lends-13m-to-microfinance-institution-fundacion-genesis-empresarial-of-guatemala/

Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page.