Blog Archives

“I Have a Dream” for an End to Poverty: Martin Luther King’s March on Washington

By Emily Riemer on January 21, 2013

Martin Luther King, Jr. led 250,000 people in the “March on Washington” in August 1963. On the national mall, Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. In it, he called for an end to inequality in American society, peaceful reconciliation among races and ethnic groups, and social and economic justice. King said: […W]e Read more…

Posted in Events, In the News, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Poverty, Transformation
Tagged civil rights, Crop insurance, economic justice, Education, Ending Poverty, Entrepreneurs, Global Poverty, Health insurance, Hunger, I Have a Dream, justice, Loans, March on Washington, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Microfinance, Mission, National holiday, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, social justice, Washington D.C., Weather-index crop insurance

The Power of Technology to Eradicate Poverty

By Opportunity International on January 18, 2013

Technology efficiently and cheaply brings financial services to people in remote or rural areas. It breaks through barriers throughout the developing world, where people are excluded from financial services because of illiteracy, expensive transportation and geographic isolation. With the support of our strategic partners, individual donors and dedicated staff, Opportunity International leverages technology to help free people Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Biometrics, Cell phone banking, Client Stories, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, POS devices, Poverty, Resources, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, Where We Work, Women
Tagged Africa, Annie Nyangomba, ATMs, biometric fingerprint technology, Cell phone banking, Client Stories, Clients, Cloud technology, Community, Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Ending Poverty, Felicitus Mmboge, Financial services, Global Poverty, invest in technology, Kenya, Kinshasa, Leaders, Loans, local staff, Marie-Claire Ina, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Nairobi, Opportunity International, POS devices, Poverty, Satellite bank branch, Technology

What We’re Reading: Vicki Escarra in the Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurial Supporters Empower Communities in Nicaragua

By Opportunity International on January 11, 2013

At Opportunity International, we see our experienced, resourced entrepreneurial supporters as a major asset to the organization that has led to ground-breaking innovations in our work. Today, in the Harvard Business Review, our CEO Vicki Escarra wrote a piece entitled “Funders Can Give More than Money.” Opportunity International’s staff and supporters are a team of innovators. Read more…

Posted in Donors, Loans, Our Leadership, Our Work, Training, Transformation, What We're Reading, Where We Work
Tagged Agriculture, Asset-Based Community Development, CED, Client Stories, Clients, Community, community economic development, David Allman, David Kone, donors, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Fundraising, Geralyn Sheehan, Harvard Business Review, Harvard University, Loans, Microfinance, Mission, Nicaragua, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, south america, Training, Vicki Escarra, what we're reading

Opportunity Ghana Innovates to Reach More Marginalized Clients

By Dana Lunberry on January 3, 2013

Opportunity Ghana is using innovative technology to provide financial services to a greater number of impoverished people in remote and rural areas of the country, many of whom have never before had access to formal banking. Through a “hub-and-spoke” method, Opportunity International uses low-cost delivery methods, including kiosk satellite branches, point-of-sale (POS) devices, cell phone Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Cell phone banking, Loan officer, Local Staffing, POS devices, Rural Outreach, Technology, Where We Work
Tagged accra, Africa, Banking, Cell phone banking, Clients, Community, Ending Poverty, Financial Access, Financial services, Ghana, Kumasi, Loan Officer, Loan repayment, Loans, Microfinance, mobile banking vehicle, OISL, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, POS devices, Technology

Six New Year’s Goals for Us All

By Emily Riemer on January 1, 2013

At Opportunity, we are putting the finishing touches on our personal resolutions and our big organizational goals for 2013. Here are six goals — both small and big — that will inspire us all. Feed more hungry people. Be nice to your mom. Learn a new skill. Educate the next generation. Be a good friend. Read more…

Posted in Agricultural Finance, Client Stories, Education, Events, Hunger, Loans, Our Work, Where We Work, Women
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, artisan, Asia, Beatrice Boaten, Chennai, Children, Clients, cocoa farmer, Education, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Honduras, India, Loans, Mercy Senyegah, Mexico, MFI, Microfinance, Mothers, New Year, New year's resolutions, Opportunity International, photo blog, photos, Poverty, rice, rice farmer, Richmercy School, Rwanda, south america

Your Last Chance in 2012 to Empower Women

By Opportunity International on December 31, 2012

We’re just hours before the close of 2012. Before midnight, make an investment in the life of one of Opportunity International‘s women clients, giving her hope for a better future. Empower women like Rosemary Namande of Uganda to earn an income, have a safe place to save, and provide a better life for herself and others in her community. Read more…

Posted in Client Stories, Online Giving, Videos, Women
Tagged Africa, Education finance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, invest in women, Kampala, Loans, Microfinance, Nadulu Infant Primary School, One Woman Holiday Challenge, Opportunity International, Rosemary Namande, School Proprietor Loans, Schools, Students, Uganda, videos, Women

Greater Food Security Moves Small-Scale Farmers from Subsistence to Success

By Opportunity International on December 27, 2012

Millions of sub-Saharan Africans lack access to sufficient high-quality food. Even where natural resources are ample, people suffer from chronic malnourishment due to lack of access to financing, quality seed, fertilizer and distribution channels. That’s why Opportunity International is working to increase regional food security by equipping small-scale farmers with the resources they need to Read more…

Posted in Agricultural Finance, Client Stories, Hunger, Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Poverty, Rural Outreach, Savings
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, fertilizer, Food security, Hunger, input suppliers, kiosks, Loans, malnourishment, Opportunity International, Poverty, Rwanda, satellite branches, Savings, seed, Smallholder farmer, subsistence farming, Uganda, value chain

What We’re Reading: Forbes, “Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs”

By Emily Riemer on December 26, 2012

What do Richard Branson and Steve Jobs have in common with Opportunity International’s clients? Turns out, a whole lot. In a recent “Forbes” article by Patrick Hull, successful entrepreneurs are those willing to take risks and push boundaries. The article quotes Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson, who says, “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity Read more…

Posted in Client Stories, Loans, Microfinance, Our Work, Poverty, What We're Reading
Tagged Blog, Blog Posts, Client Stories, Clients, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Financial services, Forbes, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Poverty, steve jobs, what we're reading

An Opportunity for Scrooge & the Untapped Power of George Bailey

By Steve Nelson on December 21, 2012

Bathed in the spotlight, Ebenezer Scrooge towered above the audience, sitting atop a 10-foot-tall desk in the opening scene of “A Christmas Carol.” My eye was drawn to the sign posted in front of his shop: “Scrooge and Marley Money Lenders.” It dawned on me that Scrooge was, in reality, a tight-fisted microfinance lender who Read more…

Posted in Events, Loans, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work
Tagged A Christmas Carol, Christmas, Clients, Ebenezer Scrooge, Ending Poverty, Financial services, George Bailey, Holiday, It's a Wonderful Life, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Steve Nelson

The Power of One Client, Felicitus, to Impact the Lives of Many

By Opportunity International on December 19, 2012

Felicitus Mmboge is one of the millions of Opportunity women clients who has used a small loan to seize a big opportunity, and achieve great change in her life, her family and her community. Twenty years ago, at the age of 22, Felicitus left her struggling village in Western Kenya and took a job as Read more…

Posted in Cell phone banking, Client Stories, Loan officer, Loans, Our Work, Technology, Women
Tagged Africa, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Felicitus Mmboge, Financial services, invest in women, Kenya, Loan Officer, Loans, M-PESA, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Nairobi, One Woman Holiday Challenge, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Technology, Women

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