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Cell Phones Deliver Life Insurance
In October 2010, Opportunity International’s microinsurance subsidiary, MicroEnsure, launched a pilot test with the mobile network Tigo Ghana around a new product embedded into the subscriber’s airtime purchases. The more airtime Tigo customers purchase, the more free life insurance they earn for themselves and a second family member. For Tigo, this insurance has helped reduce client churn Read more…
Growing Rural Economies through Agricultural Finance in Africa
In the last decade, Opportunity International embarked on an agricultural finance and rural savings program to spur economic activity and provide enduring resources for smallholder farmers and other rural clients in five African countries, including Uganda, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Rwanda. Opportunity’s approach is to help farmers move from subsistence growing to cash crop production Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Breakout session, coffee farmer, Crop insurance, Ending Poverty, Insurance, John Magnay, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, opportunity mozambique, Opportunity Rwanda, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Training
Why is Microinsurance a Powerful Safety Net for Clients?
Last week, Opportunity supporters and staff dialed in for a lunchtime conference call with Richard Leftley, the president and CEO of MicroEnsure, Opportunity’s microinsurance subsidiary. Leftley shared background on MicroEnsure’s growth in recent years and then answered callers’ questions on what he envisions for the organization’s future. He detailed how insurance is an indispensable tool Read more…
Tagged Africa, Asia, credit life insurance, Crop insurance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, funeral insurance, Ghana, Health insurance, India, Insight Trip, Insurance, Kilimanjaro, Microensure, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Mobile Phones, OIC2011, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Poverty, property insurance, Richard Leftley, Tanzania, Weather-index crop insurance, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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
Breaking Down Barriers & Building Access Through Microfinance Innovations
Targeted to reach the most marginalized, Opportunity’s financial products help hardworking people overcome the inherent obstacles of poverty and build a more stable, secure and fulfilling life. Throughout the developing world, people are excluded from access to financial services by barriers like meager, unsteady income; illiteracy; gender bias; expensive transportation and geographic isolation. To address these challenges, Opportunity carefully crafts savings, loan, training Read more…
Tagged 2010 Annual Report, Africa, ATMs, biometric fingerprint technology, Cell phone banking, Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo, DRC, Ending Poverty, Insurance, Loans, Microfinance, mobile banks, Opportunity International, point-of-sale devices, satellite branches, Savings, Technology, Training
Bank on Africa this Summer and Be a Part of Something Big
Did you know? The African continent is home to 24 of the 25 most impoverished countries on earth, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, less than 10% of the population has an account with a financial institution.Opportunity International‘s Banking on Africa Campaign is bringing millions of Sub-Saharan Africans closer to the day when they can safely deposit Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Banking on Africa, Banking on Africa Campaign, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Insurance, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Microinsurance, mobile banking vehicles, Opportunity International, Poverty, Rural Outreach, Savings, sub-Saharan Africa, Technology, Training
What We’re Watching: John Deere Classic on CBS Sports–John Deere Foundation Partners with Opportunity to Make a Difference
This video clip, which aired Sunday, July 10 on CBS Sports during the 2011 John Deere Classic PGA golf tournament, celebrates John Deere’s partnership with Opportunity International through the Classic and other initiatives. Here, John Deere chairman and CEO Sam Allen discusses the company’s commitment to philanthropy and economic development at home and abroad, ensuring Read more…
Tagged Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Ending Poverty, Farmers, Financial services, Food security, Global Poverty, Insurance, john deere, john deere foundation, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Training
Our Prayers for the Millions Affected by the Drought in East Africa
For the past two years, a drought has affected East Africa and has placed more than 10 million people at risk. The lack of rain, especially in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, has caused crops to fail, food prices to rise, and cattle to perish, reducing food sources and food security for the people. Unfortunately, there Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, Crisis, Crop insurance, crops, Drought, East Africa, Farmers, Financial services, Food security, harvest, humanitarian, IFAD, Insurance, Intern, international aid, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Kenya, Microensure, Microfinance, Microinsurance, news, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Weather-index crop insurance
MicroEnsure Wins Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Sustainable Finance Award
The following news announcement appeared on MicroEnsure’s website on Friday, June 17. MicroEnsure has won the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Award in the category Achievement in Financing at the Base of the Pyramid. The awards, organized by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, were announced on Thursday, Read more…
Tagged Cell Phones, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Financial Times, funeral insurance, Ghana, Global Poverty, Healthcare, Insurance, International finance corporation, life insurance, Loans, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Poverty, Richard Leftley, what we're reading, World Bank
What We’re Watching: New Short Film by MicroEnsure on Cashless & Low-Cost Health Insurance in India
The following video was published in a blog post on microensure.com on June 14. MicroEnsure, a subsidiary of Opportunity International, is the world’s first microinsurance intermediary, and it serves people living in poverty with innovative products in crop, loan, health, life and property insurance, offering clients and their families a safety net when an unexpected Read more…
