Blog Archives

YAO Member on Chicago Microfinance Conference & How Innovations Expand the Reach of Savings

The following guest post was written by Lauren Dillon, a co-chair of the Chicago chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) who works at Illinois-based nonprofit Oasis International. Innovation is at the heart of microfinance. It’s also the engine that propels it. Innovation is packed with chance, risk, fun, adventure! And, when coupled with microfinance, Read more…

Posted in Events, Microinsurance, Our Work, Savings, Technology, Training, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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LiveBlog: Chicago Microfinance Conference-A Closing “Fireside” Chat with Premal Shah of Kiva

In closing at today’s Chicago Microfinance Conference, Premal Shah, president of Kiva, sits down for a Q & A keynote with Marc J. Lane, founder & president of Marc J. Lane Wealth Group. Shah shares the story of how he moved from PayPal to help grow the nascent Kiva with Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley, and discussedthe growth, Read more…

Posted in Events
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LiveBlog: Chicago Microfinance Conference-The Challenges & Impact of Practicing Microfinance in Areas of Conflict

At this lunch and learn session today at the Chicago Microfinance Conference, Peter Greer, the President & CEO of HOPE International and co-author of the book The Poor Will Be Glad, discusses the need for financial services in areas of conflict and discusses the risks and the great rewards of expanding microfinance into countries like Read more…

Posted in Events, Faith in Action
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LiveBlog: Chicago Microfinance Conference-”Does Microfinance Really Work? – Measuring Social Performance of MFIs”

At this first breakout session of today’s conference, moderator Kathleen Odell, assistant professor of economics at the Dominican University Brennan School of Business, leads a panel of academics and microfinance professionals to explore and debate the benefits of microfinance to effectively help people escape poverty. The panel discusses the actual impact of microfinance–and whether such Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Resources, Savings
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LiveBlog: Chicago Microfinance Conference, Morning Keynote on Savings & More with CEO Bill Morgenstern

This morning, the 7th annual Chicago Microfinance Conference launched at 8:30 a.m. at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Around 9:15, Opportunity International CEO Bill Morgenstern took the stage for a keynote Q&A with Dennis Barsema, an instructor of social entrepreneurship and microfinance at Northern Illinois’s College of Business and a long-time supporter of Opportunity. Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Our Leadership, Our Work, Savings, Technology
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