Blog Archives

What We’re Watching: Banking on Education Video by Students of the World at CGI 2011

We’re watching this video produced in partnership with Students of the World, which had its world premiere on the main stage at this year’s CGI. In it, Opportunity staff and clients discuss the goals and the impact of our Banking on Education program, which provides , and to 280 schools serving 120,000 students in Malawi, Uganda and Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Resources, Savings, Training, Where We Work
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Building Access to Savings and Financial Services

Despite a desire to save and plan for the future, impoverished people are often excluded from commercial banks. In fact, fewer than 10% of people living on less than $2 a day have access to savings accounts. In the last 40 years, Opportunity International has become a global leader in building regulated banks that provide Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Events, Loans, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Resources, Rural Outreach, Savings, Where We Work
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Mobile Phone Banking & Technology: Learn from Microfinance Experts

Geoffrey Thige, chief operations officer of Opportunity International Kenya, arrived at our Oak Brook, Ill. offices this week–his first stop in a U.S. tour that culminates as a guest speaker at Opportunity’s conference in San Francisco, Oct. 14-15. With over 15 years of experience in microfinance, COO Thige oversees Transformation, IT, Risk/Compliance and Special Projects Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Technology, Where We Work
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A Look Back at YAO’s Summer Fun 2011

Summer 2011 was a busy season for YAO chapters across the country. From a soccer tournament in San Francisco, to the Chicago Half Marathon, to networking at Chapter Happy Hours, Young Ambassadors organized fun summer events that got them inspired and energized to put their passion to end poverty into action. Here are highlights from Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Empowering Rwandan Women in Microfinance

By Jeffrey Lee, CEO of Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB) of Rwanda In Rwanda, gender equality is real. For example, more than 50% of the Rwandan senators are women. The chief justice is a woman. Approximately 40% of the state ministers are women, including the ministers of agriculture, of trade, of foreign affairs. Indeed, women are Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Strategic Partners, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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Opportunity & Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy Call for Citizen Diplomacy and Economic Empowerment

In support of the U.S. Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy this week in Washington, D.C., Opportunity International today called for a renewed focus on citizen diplomacy and economic empowerment. Opportunity Board of Advisors member U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Claudia Kennedy encourages individuals to recognize the power of diplomacy and development to improve Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Our Leadership, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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Double Your Business’s Impact on Global Poverty with Caterpillar’s Matching Grant

Investing in microfinance through Opportunity International is the best, most efficient way that we’ve found through all of our philanthropic investments to make progress possible in the lives of people who need our help most. – Caterpillar Foundation Vice President Will Ball Caterpillar Foundation announces an aggressive, year-end $1 million challenge grant that will enable corporations Read more…

Posted in Events, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Resources, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners
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News from ONE: Rwanda gives $1 million to the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria

The following is a blog post published on the ONE Campaign’s blog yesterday, Nov. 10, written by Malaka Gharib. Here’s some really cool news–we just caught wind that Rwanda is donating $1 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. According to a press release, Rwanda is the fourth African country to contribute Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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Educational Entrepreneurs, Bringing Schools to the Underserved

Education is one of the most vital development tools for individuals and countries. Through the Banking on Education initiative, we’ve disbursed over 450 loans to educational entrepreneurs operating private schools in underserved neighborhoods in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, the Dominican Republic, and India. As part of this initiative, Opportunity also partners with the IDP Foundation Rising Schools Read more…

Posted in Board of Governors, Events, Insight Trips, Loans, Local Staffing, Microfinance Conference, Our Work, Strategic Partners, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Today is World Food Day–Saturday, Oct. 16

Saturday, Oct. 16th is World Food Day, a day designated by the U.N.’s World Food Programme to raise awareness and support in the fight against global hunger. From wfp.org: “World Food Day on October 16 reminds the world that around 1 in 7 people alive today are going hungry[...] [Though,] this year, the number of Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Microfinance Conference, Microinsurance, Our Work, What We're Reading
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