The ILCU Foundation is delighted to announce a new three-year Corporate Partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland. The partnership will support our work in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania, helping expand access to financial services. The Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Credit Union team works with over 140 credit unions, assisting them with access to in-depth financial...
The Foundation was delighted to welcome a delegation from the Republic of Moldova and the Savings and Credit Associations (SCA) sector to Ireland. The visit was an opportunity to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, practical experience, and best practices from the Ireland to support the implementation of reforms in the SCA sector of the Republic...
Programme connects global remittances to local climate solutions through Savings and Credit Cooperative Organsiations (SACCOs). A visit to Ndumberi Dairy Farmers Co-op Society Limited in April 2026 highlights how SACCO financing is helping local cooperatives invest in solar energy and build more climate-resilient operations. Nearly $5 billion in annual remittances from the Kenyan diaspora is...
As part of the 2026 UN International Year of Volunteers*, volunteers from two of our corporate partners, HPC and Moore Ireland, travelled to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to support the development of future leaders and strengthen the audit capacity within the credit union movement in support of the implementation of the CUGS programme. Developing Future Leaders...
Strengthening Women’s Financial Inclusion Alan Moore, CEO, and Joan Jennings, Board member, recently visited Ethiopia and Rwanda as part of the Women’s Financial & Economic Empowerment (WFEE) project. During their visit to Ethiopia, they met with Getnet Tadesse, Chief Commissioner, and Abdi Mumed, Deputy Commissioner, of the Ethiopian Cooperative Commission (ECC), and signed a Memorandum...
To mark International Credit Union (ICU) Day in Freetown, celebrations included a parade, with all Sierra Leonean credit unions represented. During the parade the participants held placards displaying the unique selling points of the credit union movement movement. The ICU Day theme, “Cooperation for a Prosperous World,” called on credit unions globally to collaborate for...
The ILCU International Development Foundation (Foundation), in partnership with the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ethiopian Cooperative Commission (ECC), have officially launched the Women’s Financial & Economic Empowerment (WFEE) project in Addis Ababa. The project, funded by the Government of Ireland, will promote women’s financial inclusion in three countries –...
DE EUROPE The Development Education Europe Programme 2025 is coming to Dublin. The programme takes place from the 6-11 August. What is DE Europe? DE Europe is a residential training course for credit union staff, leaders, volunteers and those working in the wider credit union sector. DE aims to: Deepen your understanding of cooperative values...
The Foundation has donated €20,000 in response to the ongoing situation for Palestinians in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank through the Irish Emergency Alliance – Gaza & Lebanon Appeal. The Irish Emergency Alliance is a membership organisation comprising seven Irish registered charities working on international humanitarian emergency relief. The members include ActionAid, Christian Aid,...
New 5 Year Progamme launched in Sierra Leone The ILCU Foundation in partnership with the National Cooperative Credit Union Association (NaCCUA) launched our new five-year programme, Credit Union Growth and Sustainability. The new programme, supported by Irish Aid and the Irish Credit Union movement, aims to foster financial inclusion through sustainable growth of the movement...
