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Meet Women Smallholder Farmers in Ghana
This past week, our Publications & Media Manager, Cynthia, has been traveling in Ghana to meet clients and staff, see our work in education finance and agricultural finance, and experience firsthand the technology innovations that help us reach many more clients. On Friday, I visited three women farmers–Emelia George, Enyoman Hlordzi and Gladys Donu–in Ada, an area two Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Clients, Community, Cynthia Greenwood, Education finance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, Loan Officer, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Smallholder farmer, Technology, Vicki Escarra, Women
Do We Know Who These Smallholder Farmers Are? And Do We Care?
Francis Mamati. Leonida Wanyama. Rasoa Wasike. Zipporah Biketi. Roger Thurow, author of The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change, implores us to get to know these farmers–and to support their development–if we are to meet the challenge of doubling food production by 2050 to meet the Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Chicago, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Children, Clients, Community, Crop insurance, Drought, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, Financial services, Global Food for Thought blog, Hunger, Kenya, Loans, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Roger Thurow, Savings, Smallholder farmer, The Last Hunger Season, Training
Death of Malawi’s President and Swearing in of Former VP Joyce Banda, Malawi’s First Female President
Last week, on Thursday, April 5, Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika died of cardiac arrest, and his vice president, Joyce Banda, was sworn in on Saturday as the new president of Malawi. President Mutharika’s funeral will take place on April 23, and the country is observing a 10-day period of mourning for the departed leader. Upon her Read more…
Chicago Microfinance Conference: Technology Innovations and the Future of Microfinance
At Friday’s Chicago Microfinance Conference at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, I had the opportunity to attend the morning breakout session, “Innovations in Microfinance.” In the past 40 years, the microfinance industry has grown to its current level whereby MFIs are operating in virtually every country. In this dynamic and rapidly growing Read more…
Tagged 2011 Chicago Microfinance Conference, ATMs, biometric technology, Booth School of Business, CARE, Cell phone banking, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Clients, hub-and-spoke model, Kenya, Malawi, MicroDreams, Microfinance, mobile banking vehicle, mobile phone banking, OIBM, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Opportunity Malawi, point-of-sale devices, POS devices, Poverty, Rural banking, Rural Outreach, Rwanda, Satellite bank branch, Savings account, Technology, University of Chicago, Women
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…
Tagged Agriculture, Banking, Banks, Bottom-up approach, Business, Citibank, Community, Congo, Developing World, Emerging Markets, Farmers, Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka, Leaders, Microfinance, Rotman School of Management, social action, social advocacy, Students, Sustainability, Technology, Top-down approach
Here’s a Meaningful Easter Gift Idea
Are you looking for a special gift to put in your child’s or grandchild’s Easter basket amidst the brightly colored eggs and chocolates? Consider an OptINnow gift card (starting at just $25) to help teach youngsters about the importance of giving back out of the many blessings your family has received. Later that day, spend a Read more…
Tagged Business Loan, Children, Colombia, Easter, Entrepreneurs, Ghana, Gift Cards, Gift Idea, Holiday, Kenya, Mexico, OptINnow, Philippines
