About ProCredit
Academy

ProCredit Academy has been in operation since January 2006. Recognising the need for a specialised training centre to support the professional growth of its employees, ProCredit Holding, the parent company of the ProCredit group, founded the Academy in Fürth, Germany. The initiative stemmed from a commitment to provide high-quality banking services and to contribute meaningfully to the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Since its inception, the ProCredit Academy has been instrumental in shaping the capabilities of the ProCredit team and ensuring that each member embodies the group’s values of transparency, social responsibility, and sustainability.

The ProCredit group, owned by ProCredit Holding, consists of development-oriented commercial banks operating in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, South America, and Germany. The ProCredit banks are neither locally owned nor part of a large banking conglomerate but were founded by several owners, none of whom come from a national or international commercial banking background. Consequently, the need to establish our own institutional mindset – in other words, to create an identity for ourselves – was much greater for us than for other financial institutions. In addition to this, there are other factors of a more practical nature which make us a special case. A bank with a developmental mission is not simply a commercial bank with a different marketing strategy. Rather, it is an institution continually seeking a balance between the seemingly conflicting goals of social impact and profitability.

Our training programmes and workshops are not merely designed to provide the staff of the ProCredit group with narrowly specialised technical skills, but also to familiarise them with the general principles of business, management, and the social dimensions of an economy. Responsible financial intermediation requires staff who are able to establish long-term relationships with our customers, analyse credit risk reliably, and provide good service in a competent, responsible and efficient manner. Our investment in training over the years and the resulting ability to respond quickly to changing circumstances has placed ProCredit in a strong position to adapt effectively to the more volatile operating environment which generally prevails in emerging markets, and particularly following the financial crisis.

Standing at the entrance to the Academy is a copy of the statue commemorating the Town Musicians of Bremen, the heroes of a German folk tale. The message of the story, symbolised by a rooster, cat, and dog perched atop a donkey, is the power of working together to overcome hardship and achieve success. In that respect, the tale reflects the way we see our role as financial intermediaries and our social mission. The corporate culture of the Academy can be summed up in the concepts of tolerance and curiosity, rational thought and scientific method, solidarity and friendliness, and values and principles.