The ILCU Foundation

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is Inspire Inclusion. 

For over 30 years the ILCU International Development Foundation has empowered women to be financially included. As the international development arm of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), the Foundation supports credit union development in low-income developing countries. The Foundation was set up by the ILCU in the 1980s as a means for Irish credit unions to support credit union development internationally in the same way the Irish movement received help from its American and Canadian peers when it was first established.

In many communities in low-income developing countries, people have no access to formal financial services, leaving them with no opportunity to access savings and loans. The World Bank defines financial inclusion as follows, "individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs…delivered in a responsible and sustainable way". Of the 1.7 billion adults worldwide who are 'financially excluded', 56% are women. 

The Foundation supports credit union movements in Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, where female membership accounts for 51% of the total membership. 

Access to formal finance for the most marginalised in Sierra Leone

One of the barriers to financial inclusion is low levels of financial literacy. In Sierra Leone, literacy and numeracy levels are low, especially among people living in rural communities. A number of credit unions have a Graduation Microfinance (GMF) programme in place. GMF is an approach used to support people who are the most marginalised in the community, especially women.  Becoming a GMF member allows them to be part of an informal savings and loans group and receive training from the credit union on the importance of saving and borrowing. When ready, the GMF members can become fully-fledged credit union members. GMF is important because it gives educational, financial, and social support to people to help them manage their finances. In 2020 the Foundation piloted a new passbook for GMF members to allow them to better understand the concept of savings and loans. This visual passbook will help members with low literacy levels better understand their finances, enabling them to make informed financial decisions.

Affordable financial services for women in East Africa

In 2023, the Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), received funding from Irish Aid for a new Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme in East Africa. The programme will promote women’s financial inclusion in three countries – Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda - by ensuring access to affordable financial services. The programme is aimed at improving access to financial services for smallholder households; its purpose is to help women and to diversify their income generation activities. This will be achieved by building capacity to promote an inclusive, modern, and sustainable rural financial sector. Credit unions play a key role within their communities to provide access to secure savings and affordable loans, and this project will support financial inclusion for women in rural communities in East Africa.

Sharing the Irish Experience

Bernie Moran, CEO, Roscommon Credit Union, participated in the Foundation’s Volunteer Coaching Programme in 2019 and 2020. The Volunteer Coaching Programme is an opportunity for CEOs and senior credit union staff to directly support our credit union partners in-country. The volunteers spend two weeks working alongside staff and volunteers, to share their own credit union experience and knowledge to help their peers. Speaking about her time in Sierra Leone, Bernie noted “I was delighted to spend time sharing knowledge with some of the Credit Unions in Sierra Leone and in particular the women who absorbed every word of information from us on our visits. It was clear to see that they were open to empowering their minds for the good and uplifting of their communities which in turn transformed and made futures possible for others. They empowered me also and showed me what resilience really means in adverse conditions.”

Cooperation among cooperatives

Recognising the success and the difference that the Irish Credit Union movement has and continues to make on the island of Ireland, the work of the Foundation is supported and made possible by generous donations from Irish credit unions, corporates who work in the sector and individuals. This support allows us to share the Irish credit union experience to empower our local partners to build safe and sound credit unions. Credit unions can help to ensure financial inclusion. As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions give women the opportunity to save money securely and borrow at affordable rates.

At the cornerstone of the credit union philosophy is “people helping people”. By working together through cooperation, people can achieve far more together than individually on their own. 

To learn more about our work, visit - www.ilcufoundation.ie

Sinéad Lynam
International Development Foundation
Irish League of Credit Unions