Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via EmailMonthly Archives: May 2010
Ambassador Melanne Verveer Discusses the Global Roles of Women
Welcome to the 21st-century reality: empowering women in the developing world alleviates poverty and grows economies. Gender equality equals smart economic progress. On Tuesday, May 4, Ambassador Melanne Verveer addressed the Chicago Council on Global Affairs about the importance of women’s roles in global economic growth. In the discussion entitled “Investing in Women, Enriching the World,” Read more…
Tagged Ambassador, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Empowerment, Ending Poverty, Food security, Gender, Gender equality, Global Women's Issues, Half the Sky, Hillary Clinton, HIV/AIDS, International development, Melanne Verveer, Microfinance, Nutrition, Opportunity International, Poverty, President Obama, Ruth-Anne, State Department, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
Bringing It All Home: The Challenges of Microfinance in the US
At the Chicago Microfinance Conference last Friday (at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business), a panel of experts from four domestic microfinance organizations discussed the ongoing challenges of offering financial solutions to underserved individuals in the United States. The panel “Microfinance in the US: Where Are We Now and How Far Can We Go?” was moderated by Read more…
Chicago Microfinance Conference: Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance?
At the 6th Annual Chicago Microfinance Conference on Friday, a panel of experts explored the possibilities and pitfalls of ever-changing technology in the microfinance industry. Moderator Preeth Gowdar, Kellogg School of Management, led the session entitled “Getting ‘Techy:’ Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance?” Gowdar started out with a story about when he was working in Read more…
Tagged Cell phone banking, CGAP, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Cloud technology, Conference, Expert, George Conrad, Grameen, Grameen Foundation, Intern, John McMahon, Kiva, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity Rwanda, Rural banking, SalesForce, Sarah Rotman, Scott Bellows, Technology
Happy Mother’s Day from Opportunity International!
Please be sure to visit our Global Opportunity Quilt at OptINnow.org/Mothers to see the beautiful patches purchased and read the inspiring messages supporters have dedicated to the important women in their lives. We at Opportunity have enjoyed sharing our own reflections on this important day. Below is a list of our blog entries in honor Read more…
One Hen Inspires Second Graders to Microfinance
When Katie Smith Milway, author of One Hen, visited Lincoln Elementary School in River Forest, Ill. last Tuesday, she was confronted with the extraordinary work of the school’s second-graders. Up on a screen in the classroom was Opportunity International’s donation website, OptINnow.org, displaying that the children had raised $425 to help end global poverty. “Do you Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agriculture, Children, Education, Ghana, Katie Smith Milway, Kojo, Kwabena Darko, Microfinance, One Hen, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, Savings, Students
Please Join Us for the National Day of Prayer
Today, May 6th, is the National Day of Prayer. Please take a moment today to join Opportunity International in prayer… …For our clients that they would be empowered to transform their lives spiritually, socially and economically. …For their families and communities that there would be justice and peace in families and communities involved with Opportunity. …For our Read more…
Tagged National Day of Prayer, Opportunity International, Poverty, Prayer
One Hen Takes Microfinance to School
On Tuesday, I got the chance to visit local elementary schools in Oak Park and River Forest, Ill., attending wonderful presentations by children’s author Katie Smith Milway. She wrote One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, a book about a Ghanaian boy named Kojo who receives a small loan to buy a Read more…
Tagged Africa, Children, Education, Entreprenuership, Ghana, Katie Smith Milway, Kojo, Kwabena Darko, Loans, Microfinance, One Hen, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, Savings, Students, Women's Opportunity Network, WON, Youth
