This month’s episode of the podcast focuses on how technical specialists with World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Global Programs' teams are growing financial inclusion through credit unions in developing nations. Nearly 20 of the specialists gathered in Washington, D.C. in early October for WOCCU’s annual Project Administrators Workshop, or “PAWS”. You’ll hear from more than a dozen voices who are working to bring financial inclusion to last mile credit union members and other...

This month on the Global Credit Union Podcast, Michael Lawrence joins us to discuss his new role as Chair of the World Council of Credit Unions' Board of Directors. Lawrence is the Chief Executive Officer of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry body for Australia’s credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, a position he's served in since December 2017. He became a WOCCU Director in April 2018, and was elected to serve as Chair of the Board in 2024....

We go back to Ukraine this month to speak with Ewa Sierzynska, Chief of Party for World Council of Credit Unions' new GROW Project, a four-year, $10 million initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will seek to expand access to finance through credit unions for individuals in Ukraine seeking to start a business, and for existing legal entities looking to expand their operations. The GROW Project will work with credit unions to assist entrepreneurs, as...

Leaders from World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) discuss their efforts to create a theme of unity and togetherness for the 76th anniversary of International Credit Union (ICU) Day® on Thursday, October 17, 2024. WOCCU Director of Member Services Thom Belekevich, WFCU President Mike Reuter and WFCU Philanthropy Manager Marcey Ciaccio discuss the creation of "One World Through Cooperative Finance" as the theme for ICU Day 2024. The trio...

Sponsored by Creatio, Episode 38 of The Global Credit Union Podcast gets you ready with everything you need to know for the 2024 World Credit Union Conference in Boston, July 21-24. Christi Swoboda, Director of International Meetings and Events for World Council of Credit Unions, is organizing her 11th World Credit Union Conference, and joins the program to preview what attendees can look forward to during the conference and beyond. Andrea White, President and CEO of Naveo Credit Union,...

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many credit unions around the world to lose the face-to-face contact they had with members in their branches. That was especially difficult for credit unions without widespread digital capabilities, because those same members were then unable to process transactions virtually. It was under those circumstances that led the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) to reach out for assistance from the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK), which...

One year ago, Donore Credit Union in Dublin, Ireland established the Donore Area Sustainable Community (DASC), a community group dedicated to playing its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of the natural environment in the local area. Part of that process was a learning journey for the credit union itself, both in terms of the response from members, and how they should proceed with initiative moving forward. David McAuley, CEO of Donore Credit Union, talks...

America’s Credit Unions’ Governmental Affairs Conference took place in early March in Washington, D.C. Better known simply as GAC, it is the largest annual gathering for credit union professionals in the United States. But each year, more and more international credit union professionals make the long journey to GAC as well, because they learn so much to take back home to implement in their credit unions overseas. On this month’s episode of the podcast, we feature conversations with credit...

February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, and we use that as a jumping off point for a discussion about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement taking hold at credit unions on a number of continents. Renee Sattiewhite, President and CEO of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) and Board Director for Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions, speaks about the DEI movement in the United States. We also hear from Alexnadre Englert Barbosa,...

If technological innovations are going to truly boost financial inclusion worldwide, international standard setting bodies and national-level regulators must consider the institutions offering digital financial products and services as much as they examine how those deliverables are offered when contemplating new compliance requirements. Were regulations to be written only for the large international banks as innovation and new technologies evolve, credit unions and other community-based...

We wrap up 2023 by taking a look back at how World Council succeeded this year in making credit unions more relevant in key strategic areas, such as climate resilience, digitalization and the financial inclusion of migrants, refugees, women and youth. Our professionals also talk about how World Council put on a record-setting 2023 World Credit Union Conference, expanded our membership base and scored major advocacy victories on behalf of our members. Plus, we look ahead to what should be...

Thom Belekevich, World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Director of Member Services, helped open the door of WOCCU membership to more credit union associations, and even some individual credit unions for the first time in 2023. He joins the podcast on Episode 31 to talk about the specific changes to our membership categories and why they should enrich our organization even more moving forward. Anyone interested in learning more about membership with World Council can email Thom at...

This month, we are taking time to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of International Credit Union Day, celebrated on October 19, 2023. Each year since 1948 our global movement has taken time out on the third Thursday of October to celebrate the spirit people helping people. ICU Day, as its commonly known, is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement's history, promote its achievements, recognize hard work and share member experiences. The ultimate goal is to raise awareness about...

Chimgee Nergui, Partnership Specialist at the Mongolian National Confederation of Credit Unions, and Violet Ndungu, CEO of Muki SACCO in Kenya, are the Global Women’s Leadership Network’s (GWLN) 2023 Empowerment Grant recipients. Both women join the program this month to discuss being awarded $10,000 each to implement projects aimed at helping rural farmers and agricultural producers earn more income—and do it in a more climate resilient way—through credit unions. --- Support this...

Eleonora Zgonjanin Petrovikj, CEO of FULM Savings House (North Macedonia) and Patrick Rico, External Affairs Manager at ACDI Multipurpose Cooperative (Philippines), join the podcast to discuss being recipients of the inaugural 2023 WOCCU Fellowship. WOCCU in April launched the first Fellowship nominations to encourage credit union leaders under the age of 40 and women of any age to apply to serve as “observers” on the WOCCU Board of Directors. Zgonjanin and Rico were selected from a pool of...

Herpin Jateng, Acting Chief of Party for the USAID Cooperative Development Program (CDP)/World Council of Credit Unions' Technology and Innovation for Financial Inclusion (TIFI) Project, is the featured guest on Episode 27. He discusses how the TIFI Project has worked to grow small-and-medium enterprise (SME) lending efforts at credit unions in three African countries: Kenya, Burkina Faso and Senegal. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/woccu/support

Brian Harris, President and CEO of Interior Savings Credit Union in Vancouver, Canada—home to next month’s 2023 World Credit Union Conference—joins the podcast to talk about the vibrant city and all it has to offer the more than 3,000 credit union professionals who will be converging on it from July 23-26. Plus, with Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions and its Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) and WYCUP programs hosting more events in conjunction with a World Credit Union...

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in May 2023 extended the flagship project of its Venezuela Regional Response Program through May 2026, awarding $14 million to World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) to continue implementation of the Economic Inclusion Project (EIP) in Peru and Ecuador on a much larger scale. Abby Cohen, WOCCU Program Manager for Latin America, and Oscar Guzman, Chief of Party for the Economic Inclusion Project, join the podcast to discuss EIP's...

We take a deep dive into World Council of Credit Unions’ strategic focus on climate resilience and sustainable finance this month. We start at Sicredi Pioneira, a credit union based in Nova Petropolis, Brazil that is leading the way on solar energy. You’ll hear all about how they are helping members access financing for solar projects, and how they are leading by example as well—powering many of their own credit unions with 100 percent clean energy from the sun. World Council wants to help...

World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8. And since this is also Women’s History Month, WOCCU is focusing this episode on the ways our organization helps women in the global credit union community through our programs and projects, and how we’re doing in terms of gender equality within our own organization. We’ll hear from a variety of voices, including the women who lead WOCCU, a woman who has made strides to...

With February 2023 marking the somber one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we look back on how several projects and entities have worked with Ukrainian credit unions to keep them resilient and open to members.  That includes the World Council of Credit Unions/USAID Credit for Agriculture Producers' (CAP) Project, which works with partner credit unions to ensure their member farmers have loans, so they can continue producing food during the war. Ivan Vyshnevskiy, a...

2023 nominations are now open for a pair of World Council of Credit Unions’ annual awards. The Digital Growth Award recognizes one or more member credit union associations or member credit unions for implementing digital solutions that promote financial inclusion, innovation and scalability. Diana Cazacu, a financial inclusion and digitalization expert who will serve as a Digital Growth Award judge for the second straight year, explains some of the things she and the other judges will be...

After an optimistic start to the year, the global credit union movement was hit with multiple crises, including Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation worldwide. In this final episode of 2022, we look back at how World Council of Credit Unions helped its members navigate those pressures, while still offering education and networking events and managing to boost the livelihoods of vulnerable populations in Ukraine and elsewhere. We also look ahead to 2023 with plans...

We’re focusing on Canada this month through interviews with: · Jeff Guthrie, President and CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association(CCUA) and the newest member of World Council of Credit Unions’ (WOCCU) Board of Directors. · Mani Sheppard-Luangkhot, Manager, Financial Access Programs, Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jeff Guthrie joins the podcast to discuss both of his roles, which are new in 2022, and how he hopes to bring his expertise in payments to help the...