Blog Archives

What We’re Reading: Banking in Africa: Continent of Dreams

By Allison Bearden on March 22, 2013

Africa is the next frontier for banks from all corners of the globe. Last week, The Economist aptly portrayed both the high hope and sheer uncertainty felt by financial institutions serving the African continent in Banking in Africa: Continent of Dreams. A number of the article’s key points are central to both why and how Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Poverty, Resources, Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Banking, Banking Tools, Economic development, Economics, Economist, Rural banking

3 Ways Opportunity International Will Tackle Poverty in Mozambique This Year

By Allison Bearden on March 7, 2013

Opportunity Mozambique is providing over 57,000 impoverished clients with loans, savings and insurance to catalyze sustainable economic development across the country. In 2013, Banco Oportunidade de Moçambique (BOM) will reach more impoverished families through the following three strategies, among others: Investing in Savings Expansion with New Products and Promotions. Savings help protect low-income families against Read more…

Posted in Hunger, Loan officer, Loans, Local Staffing, Microfinance, Our Method, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Poverty, Rural Outreach, Savings, Technology, Training, Transformation, Where We Work
Tagged Agricultural finance, Clients, Financial Access, Financial services, Mozambique, Savings

150,000 people displaced by Flooding in Chokwe, Mozambique

By Opportunity International on January 31, 2013

Flooding of up to six feet has ravaged homes and businesses in Chokwe, Mozambique over the past week, killing 38 people and displacing over 150,000. According to Opportunity Mozambique’s head of branch network, Lusungu Kaunda, “The office is badly damaged and more importantly, over half of our 2,600 clients in the rural village have lost Read more…

Posted in Client Stories, Local Staffing, Our Work, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Flooding, Mozambique, natural disasters

What We’re Watching: Vicki Escarra on CEOIntroNet

By Ian Haisley on January 30, 2013

In a recent interview with CEOIntroNet, our CEO Vicki Escarra highlighted Opportunity’s innovative approach in the field. Watch the footage to hear more about Opportunity’s unique approach to working with donors and the community economic development work underway in Nicaragua, where donors and staff are working together on a community economic development (CED) program. Focused Read more…

Posted in Donors, In the News, Our Leadership, Our Method, Training, Transformation, What We're Watching, Where We Work, Women
Tagged Agriculture, community economic development, Education, Entrepreneurs, Nicaragua, Social Entrepreneurship, Training, Vicki Escarra

The Power of Technology to Eradicate Poverty

By Opportunity International on January 18, 2013

Technology efficiently and cheaply brings financial services to people in remote or rural areas. It breaks through barriers throughout the developing world, where people are excluded from financial services because of illiteracy, expensive transportation and geographic isolation. With the support of our strategic partners, individual donors and dedicated staff, Opportunity International leverages technology to help free people Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Biometrics, Cell phone banking, Client Stories, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, POS devices, Poverty, Resources, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, Where We Work, Women
Tagged Africa, Annie Nyangomba, ATMs, biometric fingerprint technology, Cell phone banking, Client Stories, Clients, Cloud technology, Community, Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Ending Poverty, Felicitus Mmboge, Financial services, Global Poverty, invest in technology, Kenya, Kinshasa, Leaders, Loans, local staff, Marie-Claire Ina, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Nairobi, Opportunity International, POS devices, Poverty, Satellite bank branch, Technology

What We’re Reading: Council on Foreign Relations, “Five Development Innovations to Watch in 2013″

By Emily Riemer on January 14, 2013

MicroEnsure, the microinsurance subsidiary founded by Opportunity International, was recently recognized by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a “development innovation to watch in 2013.” In a blog post last month, CFR reported that MicroEnsure has “sign[ed] up a million [life insurance] customers [in Ghana] over 14 months, 85% of them new to insurance” by linking Read more…

Posted in Cell phone banking, Microinsurance, Our Work, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged accra, Africa, Cell Phones, chronic poverty, Clients, Council on Foreign Relations, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Health insurance, life insurance, Microensure, Microinsurance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Risks, Rwanda, Tanzania, Technology, Tigo, Weather-index crop insurance

What We’re Reading: Vicki Escarra in the Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurial Supporters Empower Communities in Nicaragua

By Opportunity International on January 11, 2013

At Opportunity International, we see our experienced, resourced entrepreneurial supporters as a major asset to the organization that has led to ground-breaking innovations in our work. Today, in the Harvard Business Review, our CEO Vicki Escarra wrote a piece entitled “Funders Can Give More than Money.” Opportunity International’s staff and supporters are a team of innovators. Read more…

Posted in Donors, Loans, Our Leadership, Our Work, Training, Transformation, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged Agriculture, Asset-Based Community Development, CED, Client Stories, Clients, Community, community economic development, David Allman, David Kone, donors, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Fundraising, Geralyn Sheehan, Harvard Business Review, Harvard University, Loans, Microfinance, Mission, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, south america, Training, Vicki Escarra, what we're reading

$1.2 Million Raised, 8,000 Women Empowered in One Woman Holiday Challenge

By Opportunity International on January 10, 2013

A big thank you to the hundreds of amazing people who joined Opportunity International’s One Woman Holiday Challenge. At the end of 2012, we contributed more than $1.2 million in just 45 days to empower women in poverty! Together, we enabled over 8,000 women to grow businesses, increase their incomes, and have safe places to Read more…

Posted in Client Stories, Donors, Fundraisers, Loans, Online Giving, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women
Tagged Africa, Asia, Client Stories, Clients, Community, Donations, Education, Ghana, goals, gypsy, India, invest in women, Nicaragua, One Woman Holiday Challenge, online campaign, Opportunity International, Poverty, south america, Trust Group, Women

Uganda Clients Increase Savings

By Opportunity International on January 9, 2013

Leveraging creative community outreach, Opportunity International Uganda is helping clients invest in their own futures through savings accounts. In just a few months in 2012, a savings drive launched by Opportunity Uganda increased the value of clients’ deposits by 23%, according to the bank’s CEO, André Lalumière. André attributes the campaign’s success to radio advertising Read more…

Posted in Events, Local Staffing, Microfinance, Our Leadership, Our Method, Our Work, Resources, Savings, Training, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, André Lalumière, bank branch, Banking, Banks, Branch staff, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Impact, Impact newsletter, Kalagi, Kampala, Loan Officers, local staff, Microfinance, Nateete, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Savings, savings drive, Uganda

Opportunity Ghana Innovates to Reach More Marginalized Clients

By Dana Lunberry on January 3, 2013

Opportunity Ghana is using innovative technology to provide financial services to a greater number of impoverished people in remote and rural areas of the country, many of whom have never before had access to formal banking. Through a “hub-and-spoke” method, Opportunity International uses low-cost delivery methods, including kiosk satellite branches, point-of-sale (POS) devices, cell phone Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Cell phone banking, Loan officer, Local Staffing, POS devices, Rural Outreach, Technology, Where We Work
Tagged accra, Africa, Banking, Cell phone banking, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial Access, Financial services, Ghana, Kumasi, Loan Officer, Loan repayment, Loans, Microfinance, mobile banking vehicle, OISL, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, POS devices, Technology

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