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Breakout Session: Innovating to Meet Community Needs
“The more you listen and respond… the way you increase your chances of success and long term benefit is dramatic,” stated Jim Frantz, chief transformation officer at Opportunity Colombia, speaking about the importance of having local input and ownership when implementing initiatives in impoverished communities. This breakout session highlighted just a few of the innovative solutions Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agriculture, Colombia, Community, Conference, Craig DeRoy, David Allman, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Jim Frantz, Latin America, Nicaragua, OIC2011, Opportunity Colombia, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, roof and floor program, YAO, YAO - San Francisco, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
What We’re Watching: Banking on Education Video by Students of the World at CGI 2011
We’re watching this video produced in partnership with Students of the World, which had its world premiere on the main stage at this year’s CGI. In it, Opportunity staff and clients discuss the goals and the impact of our Banking on Education program, which provides , and to 280 schools serving 120,000 students in Malawi, Uganda and Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Education, CGI 2011, Clinton Global Initiative, Community, Conference, Education, Effie Cooke, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Savings, School Proprietor Loans, Schools, Students of the World, Training, Uganda, videos
Mobile Phone Banking & Technology: Learn from Microfinance Experts
Geoffrey Thige, chief operations officer of Opportunity International Kenya, arrived at our Oak Brook, Ill. offices this week–his first stop in a U.S. tour that culminates as a guest speaker at Opportunity’s conference in San Francisco, Oct. 14-15. With over 15 years of experience in microfinance, COO Thige oversees Transformation, IT, Risk/Compliance and Special Projects Read more…
Tagged Africa, Breakout session, Clients, Conference, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geoffrey Thige, international staff, Kenya, M-PESA, Microfinance, mobile phone banking, Nairobi, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Safaricom, Technology
CGI Session-Going Small for Big Results: Microfranchise and Entrepreneurial Growth
It’s been a full first day already at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. This morning, CGI sessions have explored climate change with President Clinton and eight other world leaders, population issues with Clinton and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Then, attendees learned Read more…
Tagged #CGI2011, Africa, Bill Clinton, CGI, CGI 2011, Climate Change, Clinton Global Initiative, Community, Conference, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Loans, Lost Boys of Sudan, MFI, Microfinance, New York, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity International, Poverty, President Clinton, Sudan, The New York Times, Valentino Achak Deng, Women's World Banking, Zimbabwe
A Look Back at YAO’s Summer Fun 2011
Summer 2011 was a busy season for YAO chapters across the country. From a soccer tournament in San Francisco, to the Chicago Half Marathon, to networking at Chapter Happy Hours, Young Ambassadors organized fun summer events that got them inspired and energized to put their passion to end poverty into action. Here are highlights from Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Africa, Chicago Half Marathon, chicago half marathon and 5K, Community, Conference, Ending Poverty, Events, Facebook, Financial services, fundraisers, Global Poverty, Insurance, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Tanzania, Poverty, Savings, Tanzania, Training, YAO, YAO - San Francisco, YAO-Chicago, YAO-Denver, yao-la, yao-los angeles, YAO-New York, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Opportunity Co-Hosts Financial Literacy Conference in Kenya
This week in Nairobi, Opportunity International and The Financial Education Fund (FEF)–which is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID)–are co-sponsoring a Financial Literacy Conference to explore how access to financial services can be facilitated and enhanced through financial education initiatives. The Financial Literacy Conference opened with remarks from Professor Njuguna S. Ndunu’u, governor Read more…
Tagged Africa, Conference, Education, Financial Education Fund, Financial literacy programs, Financial services, Ghana, Kenya, MFI, Microfinance, Mozambique, Opportunity International, Poverty, Rwanda, South Africa, Training, Uganda
Opportunity International Joins Other Thought Leaders in Global Development to Discuss the Future of Philanthropy
The following guest post was written by Emily Yahr, a media consultant for Opportunity International and attendee at Thursday’s Hudson Institute panel discussion. “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” -Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky On Thursday, May 12, representatives from research institutions, think tanks, universities, NGOs, and Read more…
Tagged Board of Governors, Carrie Slease, Conference, David Simms, Events, Global Philanthropy, GlobalGiving, Hudson Institute, MFI, Microfinance, Network Services Organization, Opportunity International, Philanthropy, Savings, Washington D.C., YAO, yao-DC, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
Finding Empowerment in a Trust Group at an Indian Leprosy Colony
The following guest post was written by Julie Hindmarsh. Julie is a clinical instructor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Md. specializing in public health and global health care. She is a member of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and serves on the board of Opportunity’s microinsurance subsidiary MicroEnsure. She sends this Read more…
Tagged Blogging, Chennai, Conference, Empowerment, Financial services, GO Finance, Growing Opportunity, Guest Post, India, Julie Hindmarsh, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Opportunity India, Opportunity International, Opportunity Network, Trust Groups, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
