Oikocredit’s women that empower women

This month we’ve been celebrating a few of the remarkable women carrying out our vision. We also wanted to find out what inspires them. 

Ufuoma Elizabeth Eghwerehe has been working as our Country Manager Nigeria for over ten years. She is inspired by of our partners in Nigeria, especially by microfinance providers such as SEAP Microfinance Bank, Infinity Microfinance Bank and Bosak Microfinance Bank. This is because of their focus on using loans to empower disadvantaged women in rural and peri-urban areas to improve businesses and livelihoods and to create jobs. 

“I left banking to work for Oikocredit because my key motivation is aligned with Oikocredit’s mission to impact the lives of those in need, especially women, through loans and capacity building.” – Ufuoma Elizabeth Eghwerehe 

Another remarkable woman working at Oikocredit is Marilou Pantua-Juanito. She has been our Capacity Building & Social Performance Coordinator in Southeast Asia for almost seven years. Marilou was involved in an Oikocredit project called Bridging the Gender Gap Through Financial Inclusion. She was inspired by the women clients who took part in the project. They learned more about how to negotiate gender roles to create more time for them to work. 

We also talked to Rosmarie Obojes, who has volunteered for Oikocredit Austria for more than 10 years. She gives talks to inform people about Oikocredit’s work, often telling them about her experiences on Oikocredit’s study tour to Peru in 2018. In Peru, Rosmarie met Maria Zambrano, client of our financial inclusion partner Finca Perú and a former street vendor. With the help of the microfinance institution and her village bank group, Maria learnt how to run a business and was able to rent a small shop for selling her food. She freed her family from poverty and became a role model for those around her. 

You can find more inspiring stories and quotes from our “women in leadership” – which is this year’s International Women’s Day theme on our LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook channels. You can also read more about how our work contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) in our Impact Report 2020.