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.

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 vulnerable populations in seven developing nations across Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Hear how they share similar challenges, learn from one another and take that knowledge back to their project countries to further grow the credit union movement.

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.

Lawrence has over 30 years experience in financial services, primarily gained with AMP Bank and National Australia Bank.

Michael discusses why he believes WOCCU's biggest asset is its strength in membership, especially when it comes to advocating for credit unions in front of international financial standard setting bodies, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

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 well as micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, farms and other individuals in rural areas of the country.

Ewa is also Chief of Party for the USAID/WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers (CAP) Project in Ukraine, which wraps up at the end of September. She'll also talk about how GROW seeks to build on the work started with CAP, specifically in providing lending to agribusinesses, and working with the country's regulator to ensure a more enabling environment for credit unions.

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 discuss how they want the global credit union movement to educate their members and communities about the value of credit unions, to participate in WFCU's fundraising efforts for ICU Day and to share their celebrations of the day on social media to make it a truly global event.

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, headquartered in Greater Boston, provides a rundown of some of the area's best attractions, and discusses the credit union visit she'll be hosting for global credit union professionals on the afternoon of July 24.

And Andy Zambito, Chief Sales Officer for Creatio, discusses his organization's no-code platform for credit unions, and talks about how how conference attendees will be able to see a live demonstration of that technology in Booth 1032 of the Solutions Center at WCUC 2024.