Blog Archives

Back-to-School for Children Living in Poverty

School administrator Jacinta Njoki, of the Wisdom Junior Educational Center in Kenya, works with her students in the schoolyard. She started her school in 2001 with a $375 loan from Opportunity, and now has 150 kids and six teachers. Welcome back to school. It’s an exciting time for kids of all ages: new teachers, new Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, Where We Work
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Agricultural Advisor John Magnay Talks Food Security in Africa, and How Agricultural Finance Can Feed a Continent

“Africa is capable of sustaining its food needs,” said John Magnay, Opportunity’s senior agricultural advisor. “[But] if you look at [crop] yields in Africa, it is at 40% of what it should be.” Magnay, a British-born, 33-year veteran of the agricultural development sector in Africa, has worked with several African governments to develop agricultural advancements, and Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Microinsurance, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spotlight on Agricultural Finance: An Interview with an Agriculture Finance Officer

“Most of the world’s poor are smallholder farmers and their families. By targeting them, we can dramatically reduce extreme poverty and food insecurity.” -UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, addressing the Malawian parliament on May 29, 2010. Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the MasterCard Foundation, Opportunity is now offering greater financial Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, Training, Where We Work
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inspiring the next generation of global citizens

Microfinance is a compelling, sustainable, working solution to global poverty. When a woman receives financial services, she sets into motion monumental changes. Family income rises. Children are well fed. Neighbors become employees. Homes are improved. Tuition is within reach. Women, who comprise 85% of our clients, gain status. For Opportunity clients around the world, these Read more…

Posted in One Hen Children’s Book, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Virtual Walk Alongside the Women’s Insight Trip to Uganda

Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) member Susan Gillette shares her excitement about the upcoming “Mothers, Daughters and Sisters” Insight Trip to Uganda, offering a unique, virtual way for everyone to join in. I had hoped to go on the Uganda Women’s Insight Trip with my daughters, Maggie and Lindsay, but they couldn’t get away from work. Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Opportunity Ghana launches a mobile bank

“We have realized that many of our customers are travelling between 50 and 100 km [between 30 and 60 miles] to access banking services,” says Effie Cooke, head of HR at Opportunity Ghana. “So we have focused our energies on developing innovative delivery channels that serve the needs of the marginalized and reach out to Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Technology, Where We Work
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Hen Inspires Second Graders to Microfinance

When Katie Smith Milway, author of One Hen, visited Lincoln Elementary School in River Forest, Ill. last Tuesday, she was confronted with the extraordinary work of the school’s second-graders. Up on a screen in the classroom was Opportunity International’s donation website, OptINnow.org, displaying that the children had raised $425 to help end global poverty. “Do you Read more…

Posted in One Hen Children’s Book, OptINnow
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One Hen Takes Microfinance to School

On Tuesday, I got the chance to visit local elementary schools in Oak Park and River Forest, Ill., attending wonderful presentations by children’s author Katie Smith Milway. She wrote One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, a book about a Ghanaian boy named Kojo who receives a small loan to buy a Read more…

Posted in One Hen Children’s Book, OptINnow, Our Mission and Vision, Women's Opportunity Network
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here’s a Meaningful Easter Gift Idea

Are you looking for a special gift to put in your child’s or grandchild’s Easter basket amidst the brightly colored eggs and chocolates? Consider an OptINnow gift card (starting at just $25) to help teach youngsters about the importance of giving back out of the many blessings your family has received. Later that day, spend a Read more…

Posted in OptINnow
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,