MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Développement international Desjardins (DID), International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), Proxfin Members Endorse Draft Declaration on Food Security, Job Creation, Access to Healthcare

On the occasion of the recently convened International Summit of Cooperatives, Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian nonprofit corporation that specializes in providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies; the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), a Belgium-based nonprofit with 271 member cooperatives in 94 countries; and microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are members of the Proxfin Network, an international network of 30 community finance institutions coordinated by DID, endorsed a Draft Declaration to tackle the “challenges of food security,” “employment crisis,” and “access to health care and services”[1].

The signatories of the Draft Declaration committed to deploying “their innovation capacity”[1] in tackling the identified challenges. They declared that “we need more, stronger, and innovative cooperatives that commit to ensuring food security, continue their role as creators of wealth and jobs, and step up their efforts to improve access to health care and services”[1]. Additionally, the participants committed themselves to “act[ing] on the following five findings:” (1) “we need more influential cooperatives;” (2) “we need more and stronger, innovative cooperatives;” (3) “we need cooperatives to contribute to food security;” (4) “cooperatives must continue their role as creators of employment;” and (5) “cooperatives must step up their efforts to improve access to health care and services”[1].

The first International Summit of Cooperatives was held in Canada’s Quebec City in 2012, following the proclamation of 2012 as the “International Year of Cooperatives” by the United Nations. The recently convened International Summit of Cooperatives was the second such conference and was held on October 6 through 9, 2014, in Quebec City, with the theme “innovation”[1]. As of 2013, the Desjardins Group reported approximately USD 188 billion in assets. ICA reported total assets of CHF 4.4 million (USD 4.65 million) as of 2013.

By Alíz Crowley, Research Associate

About Développement international Desjardins (DID)

Développement international Desjardins (DID) is a Canadian nonprofit corporation that specializes in providing technical support and investment for the community finance sector in emerging economies. It assists organizations in approximately 30 nations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. DID is a component of the Desjardins Group, a financial cooperative offering banking, insurance, securities and investment services, with approximately USD 188 billion in assets as of 2013. DID has three funds that provide loans and investment capital to microfinance institutions and funds specializing in microfinance: the Investment Fund for International Development (FONIDI), the Partnership Fund and the Guarantee Fund.

About International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)

Established in 1895, Belgium-based International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental organization that represents cooperatives worldwide. ICA’s global office is located in Brussels, and the organization has regional offices in Costa Rica, Kenya and Malaysia. ICA assists authorities, institutions and individuals to “understand the co-operative model of enterprise,” and it provides political and technical support to member organizations. ICA’s projects include “.coop”, a website domain for member organizations; the “Global Development Co-operative,” that provides “low cost loans for capital and infrastructure projects” for cooperatives in developing countries; the “World Co-operative Monitor,” a report that contains data and indicators about cooperatives; and the “International Year of Cooperatives Book” that comprises stories about cooperatives. As of December 31, 2013, the Alliance had 271 members from 94 countries and the organization reported total assets of CHF 4.4 million (USD 4.65 million).

About Proxfin

Proxfin is a network of 30 community finance institutions that is organized by Développement international Desjardins (DID), a Canadian NGO. The members of the network collaborate “towards the dual objectives of financial performance and social impact.” To date, they have cooperated on projects including the design of insurance products in West Africa, debit and credit cards in Lithuania, creating an audit agency in the Philippines, marketing agricultural loans in Tanzania and the development of mobile transaction services in Mexico.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] Press Release provided to MicroCapital by Développement international Desjardins (DID)

[2] Développement international Desjardins (DID), News, DID and its Proxfin partners endorse and share the Declaration produced following the second International Summit of Cooperatives

[3] International Co-operative Alliance, The Alliance

[4] International Co-operative Alliance, Fact Sheet

[5] Proxfin, About Proxfin

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