Where we come from: History of ProCredit
The ProCredit group is firmly rooted in its pioneering history in development finance. Formally speaking, ProCredit Holding was founded in 1998 as Internationale Micro Investitionen AG (IMI) by the consulting firm IPC and many of that company’s employees via ipc-invest (today’s ProCredit Staff Invest). Soon after the launch of IMI, further capital was provided by the DOEN Foundation, the Bolivian foundation ProCrédito, and the KfW Group. IMI soon became an important vehicle for communication among the shareholders. Therefore, it was natural for other IFIs, as well as other shareholders who were interested in the holding company, to take stakes in IMI. In 2004, IMI was renamed ProCredit Holding. Our business focus develops as our markets develop, but our vision of a fair financial sector has been constant since the beginning.
For details see below
First capital increase as a listed company (10% of share capital)
ProCredit Holding becoming member of the Social Stock Exchange (SSX)
Sale of ProCredit Bank in Nicaragua and in El Salvador
Listing of ProCredit Holding shares (PCZ) at Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Sale of ProCredit Bank in Bolivia
Sale of units in Armenia, Congo and Mexico as part of the strategic refocusing on SME clients
Supervision by German banking authority (BaFin) and Deutsche Bundesbank
Banking licence in Germany and change of legal form to AG & Co. KGaA
Establishment of the ProCredit Academies in recognition of the need to develop and integrate middle and senior managers
Consolidation of ownership in ProCredit Holding and subsequent investment grade rating since 2004
Creation of ProCredit as a group of banks with core shareholders IPC (now Zeitinger Invest), DOEN, KfW, IFC and ProCredit Staff Invest
Downscaling: Focus on advising commercial banks on how to grant loans to very small businesses
Origin of ProCredit with IPC:
Consulting financial institutions and NGOs in developing countries