Subscribe via RSS
Subscribe via EmailBlog Archives
Conference LiveBlog: Geoffrey Thige, COO of Opportunity Kenya
Geoffrey Thige, the dynamic chief operating officer of Opportunity International Kenya, shares from the conference mainstage all about the work and progress Opportunity Kenya has made, utilizing solutions that include mobile phone banking, microinsurance, financial literacy training and more to help clients build a better life. Highlights from Geoff Thige In Kenya, we have 39 Read more…
Tagged Africa, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geoffrey Thige, Global Poverty, Kenya, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, mobile phone banking, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Savings, Technology, Training
Conference LiveBlog: Steven Levy, Senior Writer for Wired Magazine
Kicking off this second Friday plenary session of the morning, Steven Levy, Senior Writer for Wired magazine, and author of In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, talks about technology and how innovative thinking in the technological sector can truly offer solutions to the biggest global issues. Highlights from Steven Levy’s Read more…
Conference LiveBlog: Dr. Julie Howard of USAID’s Feed the Future
Dr. Julie Howard, the U.S. Government’s Deputy Coordinator for Development for the Feed the Future initiative, shares her background, and her perspectives on food security and global hunger from the main stage today at the Opportunity International Conference. Highlights from Dr. Howard’s presentation I have always wanted to work to implement a different kind of Read more…
Conference LiveBlog: Daryl Collins, Co-Author of Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day
This morning at the Opportunity International Conference, Daryl Collins, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day, spoke from the main stage about the financial portfolios of people in poverty and the impact that has to mitigate the effects of their uncertain financial futures. Highlights from Daryl’s Read more…
Tagged Africa, Asia, Daryl Collins, Ending Poverty, Financial services, India, Latin America, Loans, Microfinance, OIC2011, Portfolios of the Poor, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day, Savings, South Africa
Congratulations to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, One of the Winners of 2011 Nobel Peace Prize
Congratulations to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize along with Liberian peace activist Leymah Gboweeh and Yemeni pro-democracy human rights campaigner Tawakkol Karman. They were the first women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize since Professor Wangari Maathai, who passed away a couple weeks ago, won in Read more…
Tagged Africa, democracy, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Human Rights, International Women’s Leadership Award, Laureate Wangari Maathai, Microfinance, Nobel Peace Prize, Opportunity International, peace, Poverty, The New York Times, Voice of America, Women, Women Leaders, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
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…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Education, CGI 2011, Clinton Global Initiative, Community, Conference, Education, Effie Cooke, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Savings, School Proprietor Loans, Schools, Students of the World, Training, Uganda, videos
What We’re Watching: Opportunity Lifts Up Families with the Support of the Caterpillar Foundation
It’s through the commitment of individuals and strategic partner organizations like the Caterpillar Foundation that Opportunity International is able to do so much to impact the lives of our clients. Opportunity is about building from the base of the economic pyramid. And Caterpillar is about building the infrastructure for the communities and nations where we work Read more…
Tagged Africa, Caterpillar Foundation, Clients, Education, Ending Poverty, Families, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, strategic partners, videos
In Memory of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
I had the great honor of twice meeting Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. The first time was in the frenetic hallways of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. The second was in a quiet lecture room at the Los Angeles Public Library. While the settings were in stark contrast, Professor Maathai was quite the same Read more…
Supporting Rural Farmers, Reducing Poverty and Hunger
The John Deere Foundation recently approved a $2.5 million grant to support Opportunity’s agricultural finance program, which will extend a full range of financial services and crop-specific to smallholder farmers in five countries in Africa. “We are impressed with the progress that Opportunity International has made in increasing access to financial services for African farmers, food processors and retailers,” said John Bustle, vice president, John Deere Foundation. “Likewise, we are Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Banking on Africa, Clients, crops, Ending Poverty, Farmers, Financial services, Food security, Ghana, Global Poverty, john deere, john deere foundation, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, sub-Saharan Africa
