Client Argelia Ramirez (right), a shop owner in Henequen, Colombia, now has a safe place to save.

“We have provided loans and training to the Colombian people for more than 40 years,” said Enrique Ordonez, Opportunity Colombia’s CEO. “Thanks to the generous support of the Citi Foundation, our clients will also have a safe place to save their money, a critical tool for those working their way out of poverty. This new financial intermediary has as its sole objective to offer opportunities to the less fortunate so that they have the opportunity to save money and plan for the future.”

In a country where more than 12.7 million people live on less than $2 a day, and only 2.5% are using microfinance services, Opportunity Colombia will enable marginalized people, especially women, to engage in the local economy, overcome extreme poverty and build stronger communities. Currently, more than 75% of Opportunity Colombia clients are women.

Opportunity Colombia CEO Enrique Ordonez speaks at the grand opening celebration.

“Opportunity Colombia’s bank will provide those outside the economic mainstream with greater access to financial resources they need to begin building a more stable future for themselves and their families,” said Pamela Flaherty, President and CEO, Citi Foundation. “We are pleased that the support of the Citi Foundation will enable Opportunity International to expand financial inclusion in Bogotá.”

Celebrating this important milestone, Opportunity Colombia hosted a grand opening event last month in Bogotá, attended by international dignitaries, philanthropists, corporations and clients as well as local and international Opportunity staff.

Learn more about this grant from Citi Foundation »

John de Bruyn, with emcee Jenny Alexandra Reyes, leads the group in prayer

With 150 attendees at the beautiful Metropolitan Club, in the hills above Bogota, Opportunity Colombia’s CEO Enrique Ordonez and his staff were on hand to welcome the finance community, local corporations, donors, the Board of Directors and Opportunity International’s global operations staff. Jenny Alexandra Reyes, Chief of Collections at Opportunity Colombia, was the emcee, and John de Bruyn, Chair of Opportunity Colombia’s Board, led the group in an opening prayer, giving thanks for the opportunity to help people in poverty to transform their lives.

Opportunity Colombia CEO Enrique Ordonez at the podium

Enrique welcomed attendees and thanked staff and supporters. Since 1973, he said, loans have been a critical tool Opportunity used to help impoverished Colombians build or expand their businesses. In 1971, Mr. Ross Clemenger, a Canadian Citizen who developed his pastoral activities in our country, gave the first Opportunity loan in Colombia to Mr. Carlos Moreno. Though Mr. Clemenger passed in July, his work is more vigorous today that ever. But in these years, one equally vital tool was missing: savings. “Tonight,” Enrique said, ”we open the doors of a new financial intermediary that has as its sole objective to offer opportunities to the less fortunate [so that they can] save money.”

Alois Gitterle of Credit Suisse

Alois Gitterle, Director and Senior Client Advisor at Credit Suisse, highlighted the continuing need for capacity development, financial inclusion and effective training in the microfinance sector to keep up with its exponential growth. The collaboration between Credit Suisse and MFIs like Opportunity Colombia helps to accomplish this, enabling Opportunity to develop the people, processes and products it needs in Colombia to meet its social and financial goals and increase its geographic footprint to new areas, adding four new branches in the cities of Bogota and Cucuta. Alois discussed the Microfinance Capacity Building Initiative (MCBI), established in 2008, which is funded through the Credit Suisse Foundation and complements the bank’s long-term business engagement in the sector, leveraging their banking expertise. They’re proud of their long history in microfinance. They were recently awarded a special commendation for microfinance engagement in connection with the Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Sustainable Finance Awards in recognition of 10 years of comprehensive and complementary work in microfinance across all divisions of the bank.

Client Cecilia Oquendo Gomez prepares to cut the ribbon

Credit Suisse also contributes funding and expertise to the training of thousands of staff members at microfinance institutions around the world, including Opportunity Colombia. They help to develop a quality workforce by partnering with Opportunity Colombia in NextGeneration Banker staff training and development programs. And they helped implement the back-office technology Opportunity Colombia needed to gain constitutional and operational licenses, such as the T24 banking system. “Credit Suisse is proud to partner with the dedicated management and staff of Opportunity Colombia,” Alois concluded. “We’re satisfied that this is a bank that will continue to adopt best practices well into the future.”

The ribbon cutting

Harry Turner, CEO of Opportunity International’s Global Microfinance Operations, noted that what sets Opportunity Colombia apart from other local MFIs is its dedication to holistic client transformation. Clients gain improved economic status, are better able to build their capacity in business and in life, and they receive social support from their Trust Group and the guidance of their loan officer. And this philosophy led to Opportunity’s Code of Conduct, which reminds us to always treat clients with dignity, fairness and respect, offering transparent fees and clearly explained contractual obligations.

Cecilia Oquendo Gomez, one of Opportunity Colombia’s most successful clients, told the sad story of her daughter Vanessa’s long battle with cancer. When Vanessa passed away a few years ago, it was difficult not only because they had lost their daughter, but because their deep debt from her medical fees meant that they risked losing the business they had worked years to build. Even though Cecilia’s first loan from Opportunity was small, that capital and her subsequent loans helped her to slowly reestablish her family’s business.

David Simms hands a commemorative plaque to Carlos Moreno, with Enrique Ordonez at right

Finally, David Simms, Chairman of the Board of Opportunity’s Global Microfinance Operations, took center stage to thank Opportunity’s donor community for their unwavering support, patience and trust in the goal to make this day a reality. More than 1,000 partners contributed to this historic effort, including Credit Suisse; Caterpillar Foundation; Citi Foundation; InterAmerican Development Bank; private foundations (Soran Foundation, John and Jacque Weberg Foundation); as well as the Robert Jenkins Family, Warren and Mary Lynn Staley, and Alan Barnhart. David presented a commemorative plaque to Carlos Moreno, Opportunity’s first loan client, honoring him for his historical place in Opportunity International’s legacy.

As David told the crowd, “The grand opening and expansion of Opportunity Colombia is the result of a strong and sustaining vision, great commitment, hard work and abiding faith. I share this joyful moment with the entire Opportunity International family of staff and supporters.”

Congratulations on this wonderful achievement, Opportunity Colombia!

Kyenjojo branch, March 2012

In communities where formal banking is uncommon or nonexistent, community education is key to building trust and engagement in the services and resources offered at Opportunity International branches.

Informal methods of saving money and taking out loans are common and can be costly, even fiscally dangerous, to people with few resources or recourse in the event that things go wrong. Some people in poverty may distrust banks, in part because they assume they will not be welcomed. Because Opportunity provides tools, resources and training to help clients and communities build up financial stability, we also work hard to help them understand that we want to offer them a hand up, not a handout, which will help them build a strong future.

Opportunity’s Kyenjojo branch staff

Understanding this, and building on the success of our branch in nearby Mubende, Opportunity Uganda has established a new community bank branch in Kyenjojo, which officially opened on March 20, 2012, with 18 new clients. The branch disbursed its first loans in May, and is preparing to launch important new initiatives designed to strengthen the entire community.

Prior to the opening of the Kyenjojo branch, Opportunity Uganda met with local leaders, including the Kyenjojo district local government, the town council and the resident district commissioner. Meetings such as these are critical to helping community leadership understand both Opportunity Uganda’s mission in Kyenjojo and its banking services throughout the region. Meeting with these leaders is also paramount in expanding the bank’s growing understanding of the community’s needs. The development of these new relationships encourages us and gives us hope in the future success of this strategic branch.

Stay tuned for Part 5: Equipping the Kyenjojo Community for Transformation

A local radio station grants an interview to Opportunity staff.

In February of this year, I traveled to Uganda with an Opportunity colleague to learn about our work there. It was my privilege while there to meet several of our clients and visit many of the branches which serve them—including the wonderful staff who work so hard to help our clients attain their highest potential. When we visited, the Kyenjojo branch was preparing for its official opening—the building was not yet complete, and signs of ongoing construction were everywhere. But from the balcony above the branch we could see the community spreading out before us, and we were delighted to learn more about Kyenjojo’s residents, including their hopes and concerns, from a radio station that shares space in the building. Like many places in the developing world, Kyenjojo is a place of both great challenges and great potential.

Kyenjojo is a community of approximately 20,000 people, only 25 miles from the city of Mubende. Situated in the beautiful rolling hillsides of western Uganda, the town of Kyenjojo is comprised of a combination of rural residents and a diversity of traditional storefront businesses. One attraction of Kyenjojo for Opportunity Uganda is that there are very few finance companies in the region, and even fewer of them that address the unique needs of people in extreme poverty or of subsistence farmers. Opportunity is taking steps to make a significant contribution to the overall health and development of the Kyenjojo community.

Businesses across the road from Kyenjojo branch

Kyenjojo is a community of people with minimal knowledge of financial management, disease and nutrition. Financial and social education will be critical areas of impact. Few other banks in the community offer training, whereas Opportunity Uganda continues to view social transformation as critical to clients’ ongoing success in all areas of life.

Communities like Kyenjojo are ideal places for Opportunity to introduce its work because it has a great potential for positive change. When people are given access to resources and training that help them build a strong future, they realize the strength that is within them and begin to lift themselves up. We have seen this happen with countless clients around the world, and we work with hopeful anticipation toward this goal for our friends and clients in Kyenjojo.

Stay tuned for Part Three: Meeting the Needs of Farmers in Kyenjojo, Uganda.

Agnes is one of Opportunity’s first clients in the DR Congo, and she is now able to support herself and her family.

In 2008, Opportunity embarked on its most ambitious effort to date, a $123.6 million Banking on Africa campaign to expand financial services for impoverished families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With the partnership of our committed supporters, we’re celebrating the successful completion of this campaign and we’re confident we’ll reach our Banking on Africa goal: to reach five million African clients by 2015, impacting families, communities, and an estimated 30 million people in total.

Banking on Africa relied on a model of grant-funding for the initial development costs of each bank focused on people living in poverty. After that, today, most of the funding comes from client deposits, fueling bank growth from within the communities and attracting debt capital. This model has proven successful. And many of you also made contributions to the online, interactive part of the campaign last summer. We’re so grateful to the individual and corporate partners who helped us reach our goals. As of yearend 2011, our growth in Africa more than doubled the funds available for people in poverty. Thank you to all those that helped us get there.

Agnes (pictured right) is one of our first clients in the DR Congo. As the sole provider of her large family, she lived with the constant worry that she would not earn enough each day to put food on the table. In the past six months, this wife and mother of seven joined the Yunus Trust Group in Kinshasa’s Masina market. Agnes sells vegetables that she grows on her small plot of land. Having increased her daily income by 60%, Agnes has transformed herself into a provider and a businesswoman. Today she is able to afford school fees and has added meat as a source of protein to her family’s diet. With a renewed sense of hope, Agnes is already making plans to start a second business for her daughter to operate when she graduates from school this year.

Want to see Opportunity’s impact in Africa firsthand? Travel with us on an Insight Trip to meet the clients, staff, and experience the cultures of these places where we’re making a difference. Visit opportunity.org/insight »

Page 1 of the “Resolución Superintendencia Financiera,” the resolution granting our banking license in Colombia!

On Friday, June 22, the Superintendency of Finance in Bogotá, Colombia, granted Opportunity International Colombia the final operational banking license it needs to be a deposit-taking and full service bank. Opportunity Colombia‘s CEO Enrique Ordonez and his staff began the process of applying for this license 18 months ago in January 2011, and through perseverance, financial support, and a lot of prayer, they have finally achieved this goal. Now the bank can take savings deposits and conduct formal banking activities in addition to the traditional Trust Group loans it previously offered. It will bring these much-needed financial services to many more unbanked Colombians–including those displaced by decades of violence–who struggle daily against the cycle of extreme poverty.

Upon receiving the news, Enrique Ordonez addressed a grateful message to Opportunity’s global staff, saying:

After a long process and a lot of hard work from all the team in Colombia, today the Superintendency of Finance granted our final license, legally authorizing Opportunity to begin operations in Colombia as a regulated financial intermediary[...] The license is going to be a great help for the most needy people of Colombia. I’d also like to thank all our donors for their immense generosity and to assure them that we will not let them down in this new stage. This has been the result of a great team effort and I assure you that it will continue in the same way so we can reach more of the people in Colombia and help the rest of Opportunity’s operations in Latin America when needed. I believe Opportunity International will become very important in Colombia, attending to the most impoverished of the country. Thanks again for all your great help.

Opportunity International’s CEO Jon Yasuda remarked with thanks and praise: “Praise God for the opportunity to serve thousands of Colombian families with loans and savings products for many years to come. Congratulations to Opportunity Colombia’s CEO Enrique Ordonez and his team for securing the operational license and congratulations to the hundreds of Opportunity staff and donors and that helped this dream of ours become a reality.”

Congratulate Enrique and the entire Opportunity Colombia team in the comments below. If you’d like to show your support, you may fund the loan of a Colombian client on opportunity.org/clients »

A Look Back at the ’90s

In 1995, Aimee Ivy Ansod used a $65 loan from the newly opened Opportunity Ghana to build her business and create change for her family.

In the 1990s, Opportunity expanded into new continents, bringing tremendous growth as we began serving Africans and Eastern Europeans living in extreme poverty. Opportunity reached a milestone of 25,000 active clients in 1996.

Spotlight on Ghanaian Client Aimee

When her husband died in 1995, Aimee Ivy Ansod (pictured right) was left to raise five children. That same year, her house was destroyed by fire. Aimee turned to the newly opened Opportunity Ghana for a $65 loan to expand her sewing business, and with help from her church, rebuilt her home.

Five loan cycles later, she had bought several sewing machines, increased her inventory and hired six apprentices. Best of all, Aimee was able to keep all her children in school.

For more memories, check out Opportunity’s 40th Anniversary photo slideshow  »

Tshibaka, a former executive at Citibank, now serves on Opportunity’s Board of Directors. In this June 7th interview with VOA‘s Ndimyake Mwakalyelye, he talks about how Opportunity DRC’s services are improving the lives of the Congolese people at the bottom of the economic pyramid, the importance of education, and Opportunity DRC’s educational microfinance loans that enable clients to build schools and educate the children who are “the future of Africa.” As interviewer Ndimyake reiterates, “These people have the dreams but no access to the money.”

Watch this clip of the Voice of America interview:

Central Bank of Congo Vice Governor (left, gray tie), Opportunity International's Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka (center), and other Opportunity supporters and dignitaries at the ribbon cutting of Opportunity’s new community bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The grand opening ceremony was attended by local government officials and dignitaries, Opportunity representatives from the DRC and the United States, as well as donors, supporters and clients. Among the presenters at the grand opening were UNDP Country Director Adama Guindo and Central Bank of the Congo Governor Jean-Claude Masangu Mulongo. Also presenting and welcoming the honored guests were Opportunity DRC CEO Gilbert Lagaillarde; Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, a Congolese native and member of Opportunity’s Board of Directors; and Opportunity International Africa Chairman Francis Pelekamoyo.

Lagaillarde addressed the crowd, saying: “We are pleased to share in this momentous occasion with those of you who have gathered here today. Opportunity International has been laying the groundwork for several years now to open here in the DRC, and it is gratifying to see all of this hard work come to fruition. We are especially grateful for those who have supported us in the endeavor, and proud to now begin providing Congolese citizens with access to safe and affordable financial services.”

Within its first three years of operation, Opportunity DRC expects to mobilize US $4.7 million from 24,000 depositors, and disburse more than 47,000 small business loans. During that time period, Opportunity DRC also expects to add four full-service branches to meet the needs of the people working their way out of poverty.

About the Congo

With an estimated population of 71 million, the DRC is the third largest country in Africa, and among the 20 most populous countries in the world. Offering an abundance of natural resources, the DRC is spread across nearly one million square miles, making it roughly the same geographic size as all of Western Europe. Despite its vast population and national resources, it is also one of the most impoverished countries in the world, with a per capita GDP ranking of 227. Currently, only 1% of the DRC’s citizens have access to basic financial services.

Vice Governor of the Central Bank of the Congo cuts the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony.

Speaking on behalf of the Central Bank of the Congo, Mulongo said: “I am proud for the great strides that the DRC has made in overcoming inflation, boosting growth, and stabilizing the Congolese franc, but we still have much to accomplish. The establishment of Opportunity International’s network of microfinance institutions here in the DRC is an important step toward improving the economic prosperity of our citizens, and I am excited about the impact that improved access to financial services will have on the growth of our economy and the expansion of commerce within the DRC.”

For more details on our grand opening celebration, check out our press release here. At Opportunity, everyone on our global staff is looking forward to helping the Congolese people create change in their lives through microfinance and we can’t wait to see their progress in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned to our blog and our Facebook page for more updates on the clients and exciting work of Opportunity DRC.

Two years ago, Opportunity International launched the Banking on Africa campaign, a cutting-edge strategy to address rural poverty by expanding access to financial services in rural areas and to develop an agricultural finance program for smallholder farmers. Despite the many challenges of rural finance, and agricultural finance in particular, Opportunity is committed to finding ways of reaching new rural communities and creating financial products specifically tailored to smallholder farmers.

Click here to read the IFAD Rural Poverty 2011 Report.

Once every ten years, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) releases an assessment of rural poverty that examines the lives and livelihoods of those living in poverty around the world. The Rural Poverty Report 2011 offers results that affirm that Opportunity’s trail-blazing strategy is the direction in which development organizations and governments need to go to eliminate poverty and hunger in rural communities.

“The report makes clear that it is time to look at poor smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs in a completely new way–not as charity cases but as people whose innovation, dynamism and hard work will bring prosperity to their communities and greater food security to the world in the decades ahead,” said IFAD president Kanayo F. Nwanze.

Our rural finance strategy aligns with the four key goals identified in the report:

1. Risk Management
   In addition to financial access, Opportunity offers weather-index crop insurance as well as training in sustainable farming practices that help mitigate risk.
2. Increase Production
   With access to loans and savings, farmers can invest in better inputs like seeds and fertilizer, diversify their crops and invest more each season. Additionally, loan clients receive training and have the opportunity to collectively purchase inputs at a discount.
3. Access to Markets
   Our agricultural loan products are designed to address the entire value chain of crops, not just for smallholder farmers, ensuring better access to markets for people living in rural areas.
4. Encourage Non-Farming Rural Jobs
   Our rural branches lend to all microentrepreneurs, not just smallholder farmers, helping entire communities prosper.

For more about the IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2011, visit ifad.org/rpr2011. For more on Opportunity’s Banking on Africa campaign, visit opportunity.org/bankingonafrica.