We are excited to launch a new format for The Global Credit Union Podcast in 2025.

While you'll still hear interviews with World Council of Credit Unions' (WOCCU) executives and other global credit union leaders on a wide range of topics that are vitally important to our industry, you'll now also get up to date information about what WOCCU and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) have been up to over the past month, and hear about events and plans for the next 30 days.

To accomplish that, WOCCU Director of Communications Greg Neumann welcomes WFCU Marketing, Communications and Grant Management Consultant Alisa Stetsyshyn as a monthly contributor. Previous to her work with WFCU, Alisa served as the Communications Lead Consultant for the WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers' (CAP) Project in Ukraine.

To start 2025, Greg and Alisa discuss some new developments at both WOCCU and WFCU in January, and give a full preview of what's ahead for both organizations for the rest of the year.

The Global Women’s Leadership Network's (GWLN) 2023 Empowerment Grant initiatives supported over 760 individuals in Kenya and Mongolia, increased Kenyan farmers’ incomes by 20% and provided 112 Mongolian credit union leaders with training on sustainable finance, driving economic empowerment and sustainability in rural communities.

In this episode, Enkhchimeg Nergui, Partnership Specialist at the Mongolian National Confederation of Credit Unions, and Violet Ndungu, CEO of Muki SACCO (Kenya), discuss how they used the US $10,000 grants to implement projects through credit unions that advanced social impact, uplifted underserved groups and expanded financial inclusion.

Implemented from September 2023 to July 2024, the projects supported sustainable development goals and created new opportunities for women and youth.

When the Cayman Islands' Ministry of Finance in August proposed a new $200,000 annual registration fee for the country's only credit union, Cayman Islands Civil Service Association Credit Union (CICSA) Limited CEO Patricia Estwick immediately mobilized employees, board directors and members, while also enlisting assistance from the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) International Advocacy team to stop it.

Patricia Estwick and CCCU General Manager Denise Garfield join us for Episode 43 of The Global Credit Union Podcast to discuss how they successfully challenged this burdensome proposal through a combination of grassroots advocacy and global support.