Oikocredit is an international cooperative society headquartered in the Netherlands. Oikocredit was founded in 1975 following an initiative of the World Council of churches. It offers a social investment opportunity to individuals and institutions. Oikocredit uses the assets of its members to offer fair loans or investment capital for microfinance institutions, cooperatives and small to medium enterprises in developing countries. In its work, Oikocredit follows the device to provide the opportunity to poor people to help themselves.
The West German support association is one of 31 support associations worldwide. The office in Bonn serves its members from North Rhine-Westphalia to Saarland. The West German support association currently administers 72 million Euros for its 5.500 members.