Social impact investor Oikocredit announced on Monday 29 August the appointment of Caroline Mulwa as its new regional manager for Africa, effective 16 August 2022. Based at Oikocredit’s regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, she will report to the director of impact investments.
Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has over 45 years of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably. Oikocredit finances over 500 partners, with total outstanding capital of € 1,014.15 million (at 30 June 2021).
The regional director plays a key role in the policy development and support of partners in relation to Oikocredit’s investment activities in Africa. Caroline will be responsible for leading, managing, developing and coordinating teams in Africa, as well as overseeing the loans investments and capacity building initiatives to partners active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. In this role, Caroline will also oversee Oikocredit’s strategic initiatives to improve community resilience in Africa.
Over 20 years’ experience in banking and development finance
Caroline brings over 20 years’ experience in banking and development finance to the role. She previously worked in commercial banking at ABSA before joining Oikocredit in 2007 as Project Manager. In her early years with Oikocredit, she managed a loans and investments portfolio of about € 6 million.
Caroline Mulwa was appointed as Country Manager in 2009 where she was responsible for implementing Oikocredit’s strategy in Kenya and developed the credit portfolio in financial inclusion and agriculture sectors. She was the face of Oikocredit in Kenya, responsible for business development, relationship management and portfolio management of €40 million credit portfolio in Kenya.
In 2018, Caroline was given responsibility first for Zambia and then for Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda, before being appointed as Investments Manager East Africa and and Southern Africa, where she provided leadership for the investment team. Reporting to the Africa Director, she had responsibility for a credit portfolio of € 56.0 m, comprising of 50 partners in 5 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; leading long-range forecasting and due diligence to inform risk vs. return; leading commercial negotiations, structuring, and execution of transactions for both financial institutions and social enterprises; developing and maintaining long term partnerships; providing leadership and managing workflow for the Investments team based in Nairobi; supporting the development of capacity building interventions for partners and working closely with delivery teams to ensure quality.
Inspiring leadership style
Caroline has an MSc in Business Psychology from the university of south wales and a Bachelor of sociologyfrom the university of Nairobi. She holds a number of board positions. From 2017 to 2019, she was the chair of the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya (AMFI-K), representing the wholesalers. Her greatest achievement as the chair of AMFI-K was striving to have a level playing field for the microfinance sector. This was mainly by lobbying Central Bank of Kenya to amend some of the microfinance banks’ regulations so that they can play evenly with commercial banks.
Mirjam ‘t Lam, Managing Director at Oikocredit, said: “Over the past 15 years, Caroline has shown immense dedication both to living the values and contributing to social purpose of Oikocredit, and supporting the communities and local partners we work with in Africa. With her track record of building strong relationships and her inspiring leadership style, I have no doubt that she’ll continue to successfully build our portfolio in Africa and will support the organisation in its mission to bring social impact and resilience to communities we serve. I wish her all the best as she continues her career as Regional Director Africa.”
Caroline Mulwa, newly appointed Regional Director for Africa, said: “Throughout my career, social impact investing has always been an important element for me. To see the difference that Oikocredit’s community-focused approach can make first-hand to local businesses and people is extremely rewarding. I’m honoured to continue to engage with our partners in Africa and look forward to playing a more significant role in promoting greater opportunities for the communities we work with”.
