Our governance
Oikocredit is a cooperative uniting individuals and organisations across the world to empower people with low incomes and their communities. Our transparent, inclusive governance reflects our values and integrity, with a global network of professionals, volunteers and members driving our success.
Collaboration at every level
The cooperative structure
Oikocredit operates as a cooperative. We make decisions collectively with the input of our members. Our members are churches, selected partners, support associations and other like-minded organisations.
Our central office is in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. We also have regional offices across Europe, Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Staffed by local experts, these offices allow us to work directly with our members, investors, and partners, ensuring that our approach is tailored to the unique needs of each community for maximum impact.
Accountable leadership
Our governance bodies
Oikocredit operates under a two-tier governance model with a Supervisory Board, which oversees the organisation, and a Managing Board, which manages the day-to-day operations. Together with the General Meeting of Members, these bodies ensure we meet our mission and maintain accountability across all activities.
General Meeting
The General Meeting of Members is the highest governance body of the cooperative and is responsible for key decisions such as the approval of the annual accounts, the distribution of dividends, and the appointment of Supervisory Board members and the external auditor.
Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board supervises Oikocredit’s overall activities and the work of the Managing Board. With representation from various continents and areas of expertise, the board ensures balance and inclusivity in all decisions
Arpita Pal Agrawal
Chair of the Supervisory Board (India)
Current position: Sustainable Impact & Governance Advisor and Non-Executive Director
Arpita Pal Agrawal joined the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit on 9 June 2022 and is its chair since April 2025.
Gaston Aussems
Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board (The Netherlands)
Current position: Fintech advisor and non-executive director.
Gaston Aussems has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit since June 2021.
Charity Chanda Lumpa
Zambia
Current position: Founder and managing director of an investment consultancy and a philanthropic foundation, and board chairperson of a leadership company focused on coaching leaders in Africa.
Francisco Olivares
Venezuela / Panama
Current position: Principal SME investment officer, CAF Development Bank of Latin America.
Francisco Olivares joined the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit on 9 June 2022.
Lilit Gharayan
Armenia
Current position: Impact finance consultant.
Lilit Gharayan joined the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit on 9 June 2022.
Karen Tsang
The Netherlands
Current position: Global Head of Risk and Compliance at an international NGO.
Karen Tsang joined the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit in June 2024.
Georg Schürmann
Germany
Current position: Freelance management consultant.
Georg Schürmann joined the Supervisory Board of Oikocredit in June 2024.
Managing board
Oikocredit has a governance structure with a Managing Board consisting of statutory directors who are responsible for the daily management of Oikocredit, including the execution of the strategy and handling all key decision-making to drive the operations of the cooperative.
Mirjam ‘t Lam
Managing Director
Mirjam ‘t Lam joined Oikocredit in November 2020 as Director of Finance & Risk and was Interim Managing Director for several months before becoming Managing Director on 1 December 2021.
Patrick Stutvoet
Director of Inflow & Business Enablers
Patrick Stutvoet joined Oikocredit in March 2019 as Director of IT & Operations and took on additional responsibility for Investor Relations in August 2021. He became Director of Inflow & Business Enablers in July 2022.
Hans Perk
Director of Specialised Finance & Community Building
Hans Perk joined Oikocredit in January 2018 as Regional Director Africa, he became Director of Specialised Finance & Community Building in July 2022 as was appointed as Director of Impact Investments per 1 May 2025.
Ramses Man
Chief Investor Engagement Officer
Ramses Man joined Oikocredit as Chief Investor Engagement Officer in June 2025.
Ramses has over two decades of international experience in strategic fundraising, investor relations and social impact engagement.
Member’s Council
The Members’ Council represents Oikocredit’s cooperative members. These include churches, our support associations and other like-minded organisations. Acting as an advisory group, the Members’ Council ensures the cooperative remains aligned with the interests of its diverse membership.
Anita Clemons
Chair – Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation, USA
Anita Clemons is Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Investments for the Presbyterian Foundation.
Malu Padilla
Co-Vice Chair – Oikocredit Support Association Netherlands
Malu Padilla was an Oikocredit International staff member from 2012 to 2021, starting as Capacity Building Programme Officer and later becoming Senior Operations Officer.
Wilfried Steen
Oikocredit Support Association Niedersachsen-Bremen, Germany
Wilfried Steen is an ordained minister of the of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony.
Guido Forsthuber
Fundación Protestante Hora de Obrar, Argentina
Guido Forsthuber leads fundraising for the Fundación Protestante Hora de Obrar in Buenos Aires…
Michelle Lüchinger
Oikocredit Deutsche Schweiz Support Association, Switzerland
Michelle Lüchinger is Managing Director of the Oikocredit Deutsche Schweiz Support Association.
Dr Jetti A. Oliver
Christian Education Council of India (CECI)
Jetti Oliver chairs the Christian Education Council of India and is Chancellor of Sam Higginbotham University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad.
Support associations (SAs)
Our support associations across Europe are instrumental in Oikocredit’s work. Support associations connect local communities with Oikocredit through workshops, talks and events and raise awareness on issues like financial inequality and climate resilience. As members of Oikocredit, support associations provide unique platforms for members and investors to influence and shape the cooperative and encourage support for our mission.
International Foundation
Oikocredit
The Oikocredit International Foundation mobilises and deploys grant funding to support people and their communities in an innovative and sustainable way. The foundation joins forces with other development actors to mobilise financial resources and achieve impact at scale through capacity building work. Additionally, the foundation supports small and new initiatives with limited resources to grow and with high social and environmental impact potential for their communities.
Find the most recent ISUP Annual Report and standard ANBI publication requirement form below.
Oikocredit Foundation Germany
The Oikocredit Foundation Germany is a non-profit foundation, established by Oikocredit support associations in Germany. It provides financial backing to enhance social impact. The foundation’s assets are directly invested with Oikocredit. Donations received, along with the income from these investments, are used to fund training, advice, and technical support for
Oikocredit’s trusted local partners.
