Monthly Archives: April 2010

#mifimon: Technology & Microfinance

The following is a guest post from Ben Lyon from FrontlineSMS. You can stay connected and up to date with #mifimon by following @Mifimon on Twitter. Once every two weeks, the microfinance community comes together on Twitter for Microfinance Monday, or #mifimon. Last  #mifimon, the use and implications of technology in microfinance took center stage. Questions ranged from Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work
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Emerging Market Risks and Rewards

Last night, Opportunity International Board Member Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka spoke to a distinguished audience of almost 100 business leaders and students at an event hosted by the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management (watch the video here). Kadita offered up a few things he had learned during his life growing up in the Congo, Read more…

Posted in Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work
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Measuring the Positive Impact of Microfinance

When you work on poverty every day, you ask yourself if what you’re doing is having a lasting impact. Today, Opportunity International and five other leading microfinance organizations issued a position paper, which discusses our belief in the positive impact of microfinance. This paper is based on lessons learned from our combined work over the Read more…

Posted in Our Work
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Malawi 2010

Recently, Maria Largey, director of philanthropy at Opportunity UK  travelled to Malawi with Deborah Foy, director of programs. They went to meet with current clients, assess the situation in Nsanje (the region with one of the largest unbanked populations in Malawi), and to see firsthand the effectiveness and success of Opportunity Malawi’s POS devices, mobile Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work
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YAO Launches San Diego Chapter

Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) launched its San Diego chapter kick-off event this past Friday, March 26, at the Caster home. Core members Anne Edwardson, Chris Tharp, Elise Caster and Troy Finnigan organized the event, which was attended by about 20 young adults. After mingling and munching on appetizers and cocktails, guests heard about the Read more…

Posted in Events, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Can you have fun when addressing global poverty? YAO says YES!

Can you have fun when addressing global poverty? YAO says YES! This past month, 30 YAO (Young Ambassadors for Opportunity) members gathered at the Board of Governors conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. For some of us who had traveled to Tanzania and Rwanda together last fall on the YAO insight trip it was a sweet reunion. Read more…

Posted in Board of Governors, Events, Our Mission and Vision, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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