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Melinda French Gates on the Impact of Agricultural Finance
Want to do more to impact global poverty? In an interview in the August issue of Smithsonian magazine, Melinda Gates outlines the techniques the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is using to fight global poverty in the 21st century. (“Melinda French Gates on Saving Lives,” by Terence Monmaney) It’s part of the magazine’s 40th-anniversary issue, featuring ”40 Things You Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Agriculture Microfinance, Agrifinance, Asia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cell phone banking, Clients, Community, Crop insurance, Education, Ending Hunger, Ending Poverty, Farmer, Farmers, Financial services, Green Revolution, Healthcare, Hunger, Insurance, Loans, Malawi, MasterCard Foundation, Melinda Gates, MFI, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Mobile Banking, Opportunity International, Savings, Schools, Smallholder farmer, Students, Technology, The MasterCard Foundation, Training, Weather-index crop insurance, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
What We’re Reading: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Looking for a summer read? At , we’re reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. It’s the story of a young boy with an entrepreneurial spirit who was able to transform the lives of the people in his community. Young William Kamkwamba and his family grew up in surrounded by Read more…
Tagged Africa, Children, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Entrepreneurs, Malawi, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, Students, Technology, the boy who harnessed the wind, YAO, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
Top 5 Posts About Technology
Cell phone banking, smart cards featuring biometric technology, land-mapping using GPS: technology innovations are expanding the reach of microfinance in the developing world. Learn and go deeper into microfinance with five of our all-time favorite Opportunity blog posts about technology: Chicago Microfinance Conference: Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance? (5/10/10) Ask a Microfinance Expert: M-Banking (2/9/10) Read more…
Tagged Africa, biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Ending Poverty, Loans, M-banking, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Smart cards, Technology
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…
Tagged accra, Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, andrew koehler, Ban Ki-moon, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Clients, Community, Education, Ending Poverty, Farmer, Farmers, Financial Times, Ghana, Insurance, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, MasterCard Foundation, Microfinance, Microinsurance, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Technology, The MasterCard Foundation, Training, Uganda, United Nations
Global Poverty: Melinda Gates Discusses What Can Be Done
In an interview with Melinda French Gates in the July/August issue of Smithsonian, the co-chair of the world’s largest philanthropic organization discusses what can be done and what is being done about global poverty and health. As part of the $22.7 billion the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to development, education and health Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Children, Clients, Community, Education, Financial services, Health, Healthcare, Kenya, Malawi, MasterCard Foundation, Melinda Gates, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, Savings, Schools, Students, Technology, The MasterCard Foundation, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON
The Potential of Cell Phone Banking
Wondering if cell phone banking can reach the unreachable? CGAP Technology Blog has published the results of a discussion with Daryl Collins (co-author of Portfolios of the Poor) and Olga Morawczynski (of Grameen Foundation) from June’s Mobile Money Summit, an examination that highlights some of the keys to effective cell phone banking. Blog author Mark Read more…
Tagged biometric technology, biometrics, Cell phone banking, Cell Phones, CGAP, cgap technology blog, Grameen, Grameen Foundation, Insurance, Kenya, Loans, M-banking, M-PESA, Malawi, Mobile Banking, Mobile Phones, Opportunity International, Opportunity Kenya, Opportunity Malawi, Portfolios of the Poor, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day, Professional training, Savings, Technology, Training
Loans for Latrines: Innovations for Good Hygiene in Malawi
If Opportunity International‘s mission is to empower people to improve their quality of life and their futures, then good hygiene is critical. Not only does this lead to less illness and improved overall health, but it also helps people live with greater dignity. With that in mind, Opportunity Malawi has entered into a partnership with Read more…
Tagged Clean water, Empowerment, Families, Health, Hygiene Village Project, Latrine, Loans, Malawi, NGO, Opportunity Malawi, Sanitation, Trust Groups
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Education as a Solution
Guest blogger and Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) member Julie Hindmarsh sends us this report while on WON’s “Mothers, Daughters and Sisters” Insight Trip to Uganda. What a thrill to visit a school that has received loans from Opportunity Uganda! Maria Nassaka’s husband started the school in 2000 with only 50 children. When he died in Read more…
Tagged Banking on Education, Children, Daughters, Dominican Republic, Ending Poverty, Ghana, Girl, Half the Sky, Loans, Malawi, Mothers, Nicholas D. Kristof, Opportunity Uganda, Savings account, School, School fees, Sheryl WuDunn, Sisters, Teachers, Trust Group, Uganda, Women, Women's Opportunity Network, Women's Philanthropy, WON, WON Uganda Insight Trip 2010
YAO meets Ken Vander Weele at the Microfinance Club of New York
Panelist Ken Vander Weele (front center) and Opportunity’s East Coast Regional Director Richard Spalholz (far left) posed for a picture after the panel on Tuesday night, with guest blogger and YAO core member Michelle Mak (front right) and members of YAO-New York and YAO-Boston. YAO-NY core member Michelle Mak shares with us this report from last night’s Read more…
Tagged Africa, China, Global Leadership Team, HIV/AIDS, Ken Vander Weele, Malawi, MFI, Microensure, Microfinance, Microfinance Club of New York, Mobile Banking, Opportunity China, Opportunity International, Poverty, Training, YAO, YAO-New York, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Young Professionals, Youth
