Blog Archives

Cell Phone Banking Technology Comes to Opportunity Malawi

By Opportunity International on May 19, 2010

Opportunity International is excited to announce that, after several years and many challenges, Opportunity Malawi launched its cell phone banking product, Banki Mmanja, on May 7 in the rural district of Dowa. In 2007, Opportunity started work on a project that could tap into the country’s huge network of cell phone users and bring the bank Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Cell Phones, Children, Credit Suisse, Dowa, Half the Sky, International Women's Day, Kenya, Loans, Malawi, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Nairobi, Ndirande, Opportunity International, POS devices, Poverty, Rural banking, Technology, WON

Serving the People of Malawi with a New Satellite Bank Branch

By Opportunity International on May 18, 2010

Community members in Ndirande, Malawi admire the new satellite bank branch. Exciting news from Malawi… Opportunity Malawi has now opened a satellite bank branch in Ndirande Township, an informal settlement located three miles south of Blantyre and six miles from Limbe, and the largest community in the Blantyre area. The roads in the densely populated township Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Savings, Technology, Training, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, ATMs, Cell phone banking, Credit Suisse, Family, Loans, Malawi, Marketplace, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Ndirande, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, Satellite bank branch, Savings, Technology, Training, Women's Opportunity Network, WON

Meeting My First Opportunity Tanzania Microfinance Clients

By AJ Renold on May 17, 2010

Opportunity International is thrilled to announce the launch of Tanzanian clients on OptINnow.org. This is the perfect opportunity for AJ Renold, our multimedia YAO reporter on the ground with Opportunity Tanzania, to share his experience meeting hard-working Tanzanian microfinance clients. Visit OptINnow.org to fund the loan of a client in Tanzania today. I went to interview my first Opportunity Tanzania clients Read more…

Posted in Local Staffing, OptINnow, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Tagged Africa, Children, Client Stories, Dar es Salaam, Education, Insight Trip, Loan Officers, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, Savings, Students, Tanzania, Trust Groups, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity

Malawi 2010

By Marisa Brown on April 3, 2010

Recently, Maria Largey, director of philanthropy at Opportunity UK travelled to Malawi with Deborah Foy, director of programs. They went to meet with current clients, assess the situation in Nsanje (the region with one of the largest unbanked populations in Malawi), and to see firsthand the effectiveness and success of Opportunity Malawi’s POS devices, mobile Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work
Tagged Blog, Clients, Education, Financial literacy programs, Malawi, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Mozambique, Opportunity UK, POS devices, Trust Groups

Outrage & Inspire – All Efforts Great and Small by Roger Thurow

By Opportunity International on March 30, 2010

Roger Thurow, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal for three decades, spoke at Opportunity International’s recent microfinance conference in Phoenix. His subsequent post, “All Efforts Great and Small,” on the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Global Food for Thought blog, discusses Opportunity’s agricultural finance program and its big impact on farmers in Africa. Read it Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Farmers, Roger Thurow, The Wall Street Journal

Opportunity LiveBlog: “This Determination Led Me to Opportunity”

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on March 20, 2010

I would like to introduce you to Henrietta Isaac. She is a professional “champion of dreams.” When she was young, still in school, she dreamt of becoming a CEO. That led her to complete an MBA in the UK against all odds—convincing her parents that it was a better idea to invest in education than Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Where We Work
Tagged Business, Client Stories, Community, Dreams, GO Finance, Henrietta Isaac, India, Microfinance, Product Development, Sari business, Women

Opportunity LiveBlog: Harvesting Hope

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on March 19, 2010

It has been argued that rural outreach is the “Holy Grail” of microfinance. If that statement is true, John Magnay is the person who stands on the cusp of the discovery. John Magnay has lived and worked in Uganda for the last 32 years, including surviving two years running dairy farms during the reign of Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Rural Outreach, Where We Work
Tagged Africa, Agriculture, Agriculture Microfinance, Client Stories, Farmer, John Magnay, Microfinance Video, Rural banking, spring 2010 microfinance conference, spring microfinance conference

Strong Women: The Heart of Community in Kampala, Uganda

By Cynthia Greenwood on March 7, 2010

I woke up today, on the eve of International Women’s Day, thinking about the remarkable women clients I met on a recent trip to Kampala to visit Opportunity Uganda’s operations. For me, these women give new meaning to the words “hardworking,” “committed,” “brave,” and “strong.” Opportunity Loan Officer Charity Namutebi works out of the Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged $2 a day, AIDS, Build businesses, Charity Namutebi, Client Stories, Community, International Women's Day, Loan Officer, Loans, Mariam Noah, Nuulu Nankya, Opportunity Uganda, Orphans, Ruth Nassimbwa, Savings, Schools, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Opportunity International Provides Crucial Support to Microfinance Bank in Haiti

By Cynthia Greenwood on February 12, 2010

Fonkoze, the largest microfinance organization in Haiti, is being hailed for its distribution of cash more quickly than traditional banks after the earthquake destroyed the country’s banking infrastructure. Opportunity International has been playing a crucial supporting role to Fonkoze in getting the bank up and running after the disaster. After years of struggling to adapt Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Technology, Where We Work
Tagged Banking, Earthquake, Fonkoze, Haiti, Innovation, Mobile Banking, Newsweek, Red Cross, Technology

Yes, We Care, Kenya

By Cynthia Greenwood on February 12, 2010

Capturing the stories of our field staff and clients during our time in Uganda and Kenya inspired us, and we hope it inspires you. While we were having dinner on our final night in Kenya, Ruth-Anne Renaud gave me the idea of starting up a fundraising group at OptINnow.org. It was easy to do, and Read more…

Posted in Loans, OptINnow, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Build businesses, Children, Education, Ending Poverty, Families, Fundraising, Kenya, Loans, Nutrition, OptINnow, Ruth-Anne, Uganda, We Care Kenya, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Subscribe to the Blog

Archives

Categories