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Microfinance’s Risky Lending Is a Safe Bet
The following post by Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, on our Board of Directors, was originally published on The Huffington Post. As I look at the microfinance industry globally, I’m encouraged by the trends and the progress we’ve achieved so far. Whether you search in Wikipedia, CGAP or MIX Market, whatever the source of the data and Read more…
Tagged Africa, Board of Directors, CGAP, Clients, code of conduct, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Huffington Post, Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Microfinance industry, mitigate risk, MIX Market, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Smart Campaign, Training, Transformational Training, Uganda, what we're reading
How to Make a Real Impact? Opportunity’s Partnership Model
Something that attracted me to , and that has kept me here for eight years, is that we work in partnership with our clients to build sustainable financial infrastructure in the community. Our services are nothing without the hard work, ingenuity, community and integrity of the individuals with whom we partner. For more than 40 Read more…
Photo Blog: Happy Fourth of July
For clients, freedom is… What does freedom mean to you? Leave us your comments below. Happy Independence Day!
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Asia, Clients, Colombia, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Fourth of July, Ghana, Global Poverty, Health insurance, Independence Day, India, Latin America, Loans, Malawi, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Mothers, Opportunity International, Philippines, Poverty, roof and floor program, Savings, Schools, Students, Tanzania, Training, Trust Groups, Women
Technology & New Innovations at Chicago Microfinance Conference
At Friday’s Chicago Booth and Zell Center Microfinance Conference, several of my colleagues and members of heard from ‘s SVP of International Business Development, Dennis Ripley, who spoke as part of a panel called “New Products and Innovations in Microfinance,” along with Kate Cochran, COO at Vittana; Karl Muth, Consulting Economist at Grameen; and moderator Nina Read more…
Tagged 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, Africa, ATMs, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Clients, Colombia, Credit Suisse, Dennis Ripley, DePaul University, Ghana, Grameen, hub-and-spoke model, Kenya, Latin America, Loans, M-PESA, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, POS devices, Poverty, Richard Leftley, Savings, Smart Campaign, Students, Technology, Tigo, Uganda, Vittana, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
A Young Ambassador’s Report from the 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference
I left the 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, “Micronext: Strategies and Challenges of Social Impact,” impressed, energized and hungry for more. The conference focused on the strategies and challenges of social impact, facilitating discussions around the direction of and the lessons from past methodologies. The strong turnout included experts from various microfinance organizations, as well as Read more…
Tagged 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, Agricultural finance, Blog, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Conference, David Roodman, Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, home improvement loans, HOPE International, Impact, Insurance, Kellogg School of Management, Loans, Microfinance, northwestern university, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Young Professionals
Accion’s Michael Schlein, David Roodman and More at Friday’s Chicago Microfinance Conference
On Friday, I attended the 8th Annual Chicago Booth and Zell Center Microfinance Conference along with . It was my third consecutive year attending this conference, and this year’s topic was “Micronext: Strategies and Challenges of Social Impact.” The day-long conference was hosted by the Emerging Markets Group at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Read more…
Tagged 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, Accion, Booth School of Business, Center for Global Development, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Conference, David Roodman, Emerging Markets Group, Ending Poverty, Financial services, FINCA, Harris School of Public Policy, Kellogg School of Management, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Microfinance Open Book Blog, northwestern university, Poverty, Savings, Smart Campaign, Technology, University of Chicago
My Journey with Opportunity International Begins… Actress Malin Akerman Travels to Tanzania
On March 9, my husband Roberto and I stepped off the plane in Arusha (a place I hadn’t heard of until this year), and we knew we were in for an adventure. I couldn’t wait to get started. In 2010 I had spent time in Johannesburg while filming Bang Bang Club. I became good friends with Read more…
Tagged Africa, Arusha, Children, Clients, Financial services, Guest Post, Insight Trip, Loans, Malin Akerman, MFI, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Tanzania, Trust Groups
“The Hype is Long Over” – Microfinance CEOs Respond to Washington Post Article, “Microfinance Doesn’t End poverty, Despite All the Hype”
The following post was published today on the Center for Financial Inclusion’s blog. The Microfinance CEO Working Group consists of the CEOs of leading microfinance organizations ACCION, FINCA International, Freedom from Hunger, Grameen Foundation USA, , Pro Mujer, VisionFund International, and Women’s World Banking. In the post below, the CEOs respond to the recent Washington Read more…
Tagged Accion, Center for Financial Inclusion, Credit Suisse, David Roodman, David Simms, Ending Poverty, Financial services, FINCA, Freedom from Hunger, Grameen Foundation, Insurance, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Network, Pro Mujer, Savings, VisionFund International, Washington Post, Women's World Banking
Look Good, Do Good
This week only, the social entrepreneurs at Sevenly selected Opportunity International as their featured nonprofit, designing t-shirts and a hoodie for sale to benefit our work. They were especially inspired by our work in India, focusing their week-long campaign on our microfinance there, especially health insurance through our microinsurance subsidiary MicroEnsure. After all, our financial services Read more…
