Blog Archives

Gaining Insight into Women Worldwide

By Marisa Brown on March 6, 2010

An important component of celebrating International Women’s Day is being aware of and recognizing the difficulties and challenges women still face daily around the world. Opportunity International believes you can even take the common cliché “think globally, act locally” and apply it to this day. We plan on doing this for our in-office International Women’s Read more…

Posted in Events, Insight Trips, OptINnow, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Business Loan, Clients, Education, Ending Poverty, Female entrepreneurs, Global Opportunity Quilt, Insight Trip, Insurance, International Women’s Day, Loan Officer, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Uganda, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Two Days of Discovery in Uganda

By Ruth-Anne Renaud on February 8, 2010

Cynthia Greenwood, Opportunity’s public relations specialist, and I recently traveled to Uganda and Kenya to capture the stories of Opportunity’s clients, programs, loan officers and services. We started our trip in Kampala, Uganda, where we spent two days discovering the intersections amongst our clients: a school proprietor, a Trust group, marketplace vendors, and children that Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Loans, Local Staffing, Microinsurance, Our Mission and Vision, Rural Outreach, Savings, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged AIDS, Banking on Education, Children, Client Stories, Clients, Education, Financial services, Kenya, Loan Officers, Loans, Savings, School, School fee loans, Training, Trust Group, Uganda, Women

The Challenge of Credit Scoring

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on January 11, 2010

A lack of a formal credit score makes risk mitigation particularly difficult and thus has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of microfinance. A lack of some type of credit information can cause microfinance institutions to make decisions that are not in the best interest of the client. In the worst case scenario, either someone Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Work, Trust Groups
Tagged Clients, Credit Scoring, Ghana, Loan Officer, Loan repayment, Microfinance, mitigate risk, South Africa, Trust Groups

Opportunity’s new start-up in Tanzania to become a regulated financial institution?

By Ian Haisley on December 11, 2009

Opportunity Tanzania has begun the transition to become a regulated deposit-taking institution. With the help and guidance of Opportunity’s Bank Building Team, Tanzania’s CEO, Peter Olivier expects to secure a license from the Bank of Tanzania to operate as a regulated deposit-taking entity during the first half of 2010. This Micro Finance Institution license will Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Technology, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Tagged Bank Building, Banking, Cell phone banking, Clients, Electronic banking, Microfinance, Opportunity Tanzania, Tanzania, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity

Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Teach me and I will understand.

By Guest Post on December 7, 2009

The following is a guest post from John Wayman written on November 12th, 2009. Eighteen hours ago, I was one of 10 students from Northern Illinois University preparing to embark on a trip to Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, to learn more about and study in depth the elements that comprise the principles of Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged Clients, Empowerment, Entrepreneurs, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Loans, Local staffin, Mexico, Microfinance, Northern Illinois University, Passion, Students, Trip, Trust Groups, Women

#MifiMon: Women and Microfinance

By Guest Post on December 2, 2009

The following is a guest post by Sheethal Shobowale, Kiva Fellow at MFIs Asociación Arariwa in Cusco, Peru and Emprender in La Paz, Bolivia starting in January. Interested in learning about microfinance? Follow our biweekly Twitter discussion group #mifimon (because Microfinance Mondays was too long for Twitter’s 140-character limit). Our aim is to host an Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged #MifiMon, Accion, Clients, Community, Community development, Education, Entrepreneurs, Equal opportunity, Gender equality, Group lending, Healthcare, Kiva, Lending Laws, Loan Officers, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Savings, Seven Bar Foundation, Social Performance Indicators Blog, The Next 4 Billion, Training, Trust Groups, Twitter, WAM, Women, Women Advancing Microfinance, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

Shalom… the way things ought to be.

By David M. Knibbe on November 28, 2009

While in Ghana a week ago, I visited the Peace International School. In this particular location just outside of Sunyani, Opportunity International and IDP Foundation Rising Schools are partnering to provide financial services and training to the private school’s proprietor so she can offer a quality education to more children living in poverty. Our clients Read more…

Posted in Faith in Action, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Training
Tagged Banking on Education, Children, Clients, Education, Financial services, Ghana, IDP Foundation, Peace International School, Poverty, Training

With a Grateful Heart I: Mrs. Jabalasa’s Potatoes and Promise

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on November 24, 2009

This year as we stock up on pumpkin and pecans, cook our Thanksgiving meals and recount our blessings, I am reminded of those who provide their communities with food. In particular, I’m thinking of an Opportunity International client with a food retail business who has found security in financial services this year. Mrs. Jabalasa has a successful potato Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Savings
Tagged Client Stories, Clients, Financial services, Malawi, Savings account, Thanksgiving

Spotlight from the Field: Irene Tebukoza

By Sonja Egeland Kelly on November 19, 2009

From time to time, we get the pleasure of hosting our international staff here in the US. One such staff member is Irene Tebukoza, a loan officer supervisor in Uganda. While here in our head office, Irene offered stories of her work in Uganda, from accounts of her daily routine to inspirational stories about the Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Where We Work
Tagged Client Stories, Clients, Community, Education, International Visitor, Irene Tebukoza, Loan Officer, Loans, Schools, Uganda

Honoring Those Who Increase Opportunities for Women

By Cynthia Greenwood on November 10, 2009

On a sparkling Saturday evening in Washington D.C., the Women’s Opportunity Network of Opportunity International honored a pioneering program and a special staff member in the field who are making an impact on women’s lives in the developing world. The first International Women’s Leadership Award of the night went to Teddy Ajiku, who has held Read more…

Posted in Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged 10000 women initiative, 10k Women, Branch Manager, Clients, Community, Education, Financial services, Goldman Sachs, Goldmas Sachs, International Women’s Leadership Award, Loan Officer, Opportunity Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON

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