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Opportunity Promotes Entrepreneurship for the Next Generation in Nicaragua
Opportunity International is launching a Technical High School to teach youth entrepreneurship skills in the agriculture and tourism industries as part of its community development initiative in Nicaragua. Opportunity recently broke ground on its Entrepreneurial Technical High School in Diriomo, Nicaragua. The school will provide rural students with the education and training they need to Read more…
Tagged Clients, Community, Community development, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Latin America, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Rural Outreach, rural schools, Schools, Students, Training
Meet Our Staff: Why Do I Believe in Opportunity?
In May of 2010, I attended a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where Melanne Verveer, the first-ever U.S. ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, spoke to the significance of investing in women as a means to drive economic growth in the developing world. Equally as captivating as Ambassador Verveer’s remarks was being Read more…
Tagged Ally Lynch, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Meet Our Staff, Melanne Verveer, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity-US, Poverty, Women, Women's Philanthropy
What We’re Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1964 Nobel Lecture on Racial Injustice, Poverty, and War
On December 11, 1964, the day after he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave this lecture at the University of Oslo in Norway. In the lecture, he discussed what he said was “the most pressing problem facing mankind today,” which is a moral and spiritual poverty. As King put it: This problem of Read more…
Tagged agape, Ending Poverty, Faith in Action, Financial services, Fundraising, Get involved, Global Poverty, God, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Microfinance, Nobel Peace Prize, Opportunity International, Poverty, racial injustice, War
Thank You for Your Partnership in 2011
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your partnership in 2011. As we look back on the year, we know that it’s because of your ongoing support that Opportunity International is able to empower our clients and their families with life-changing opportunity. Of course, there’s still so much to do. This past Read more…
Solar Panel Loans Offer a Beacon of Light for Ugandan Families
In November, launched a solar energy loan to provide power to families currently living with no or unreliable electricity. Opportunity Uganda is now offering clients like Betty Aute (pictured right), a papyrus weaver and mother of two, a solar panel loan of about $300, which covers panels and installation and is repayable over two years, to Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, electricity, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, solar panels, Technology, Uganda
A Call for Sustainable Development on Oct. 17, United Nations Poverty Eradication Day
“People living in poverty face increasingly difficult challenges as climate change, environmental degradation and rising food prices threaten their livelihoods and survival.” -United Nations’s Division for Social Policy and Development Today, October 17, is the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) and this year’s theme is “From Poverty to Sustainability: People Read more…
Tagged Agricultural finance, Alliance to End Hunger, Clients, Climate Change, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Feed the Future Guide, Financial services, Food security, Global Poverty, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, John Magnay, Julie Howard, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Richard Leftley, The Philippines, Tony Hall, United Nations, USAID, Weather-index crop insurance
Conference LiveBlog: Geoffrey Thige, COO of Opportunity Kenya
Geoffrey Thige, the dynamic chief operating officer of Opportunity International Kenya, shares from the conference mainstage all about the work and progress Opportunity Kenya has made, utilizing solutions that include mobile phone banking, microinsurance, financial literacy training and more to help clients build a better life. Highlights from Geoff Thige In Kenya, we have 39 Read more…
Tagged Africa, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geoffrey Thige, Global Poverty, Kenya, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, mobile phone banking, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Savings, Technology, Training
Conference LiveBlog: Jeffrey Spector, Chief of Staff at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
This Saturday morning plenary session continues with a presentation by Jeffrey Spector, Chief of Staff for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Highlights from Jeffrey Spector’s Presentation Innovations are not only happening in labs or on computers. I’ll give two examples: A few years ago, I was tasked with scaling up Gates’s organizations. We made Read more…
Tagged Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ending Poverty, Financial Services for the Poor initiative, Gates Foundation, Global Poverty, Jeffrey Spector, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, strategic partners
Breakout Session: Global Food Security: Call to Action
As the hunger crisis persists in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, the urgent need continues for agricultural development, nutrition assistance and humanitarian response–both short- and long-term. Join this discussion that explores the ethical, economic and global security justifications for a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to address worldwide hunger. Facilitator: Dennis Ripley, senior VP, international Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Alliance to End Hunger, Dennis Ripley, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Feed the Future Guide, Financial services, Food security, Global Poverty, John Magnay, Julie Howard, Loans, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Tony Hall, USAID
Breakout Session: Agricultural Finance: Cultivating Hope
With 65% of the Sub-Saharan African labor force employed in agriculture, which provides 32% of GDP growth, according to the World Bank, the importance of the sector to the economy is clear. Agriculture is recognized as the key to revitalizing Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural regions and significantly reducing the level of poverty. In this breakout session, Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Food security, Global Poverty, John Magnay, Loans, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Technology, World Bank
