Blog Archives

Meet Betty Mutua of Opportunity Kenya

“Working in microfinance has transformed me. We use the word ‘transformation’ to describe our client training, but that word also describes how I feel,” says Betty Mutua, a regional manager at . Mutua began working for  as a in 2001, which was also the year she got married. “I’ve been married as long as I’ve been Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Where We Work, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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Spotlight on the Annual Report: Harvesting Hope

Providing access to clients living in the world’s most geographically remote areas is an important part of what does. Reaching clients like farmer , or Jakob as he’s known, who live hours from urban areas is crucial to connecting them with financial services, access to markets for agricultural goods, and economic sustainability. Through financial services like Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Microinsurance, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Rwandan Women are Crucial to Economy — A Story on CNN.com

Check out CNN.com where Lisa Desai wrote a piece, accompanied by a video, that highlights the integral role that women play in the growing economy of Rwanda since the genocide in 1994. Today, women outnumber men in and, according to the piece, “there are more women in Rwanda’s parliament than any other country in the world. Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Mission and Vision, Our Work, Savings, Strategic Partners, Training, What We're Reading, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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What We’re Reading: “Reaching the Unreachable” on Hunger & Undernutrition Blog

On Thursday, we wrote a guest blog post on The Hunger and Undernutrition Blog, talking about the impact of innovations in agriculture finance, including crop insurance, savings accounts and lending–which all mitigate the challenges and risks of lending to smallholder farmers. But we are not the only organization to want to discuss agricultural sustainability. Go deeper and check Read more…

Posted in Loans, Microinsurance, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, What We're Reading
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Be Inspired: A Traveler Meets Opportunity Uganda’s Microfinance Clients

Debby Farrington, a supporter of the is visiting Uganda with her 16-year-old nephew Matt Statman. Yesterday, Matt sent us about meeting teenage students in Kampala, and today, Debby reports on their visits with Trust Group clients and some very inspiring women entrepreneurs. Today, we visited a meeting and some very special clients of Opportunity Uganda. Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Local Staffing, Our Work, Training, Trust Groups, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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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…

Posted in Our Work, Technology, Where We Work
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What We’re Reading: Roger Thurow Encourages Rwandan Farmers to “Keep Up the Momentum”

This week, Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow on Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, posted a blog reporting on an unusual situation for farmers in Kirehe, Rwanda — an agricultural surplus. Thurow examines the situation, interviewing Agnes Kalibata, Rwanda’s minister of agriculture, and discusses the positive impact of USAID’s Feed Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, Training, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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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…

Posted in Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, Trust Groups, What We're Reading, Women's Opportunity Network
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YAO Hosts an Expert Panel: The Microfinance Landscape Today

YAO-New York core member and event co-organizer Sheila Ramachandra sends us this report from the panel discussion YAO hosted on Tuesday evening, which examined the current microfinance landscape. On Tuesday evening, YAO-New York hosted a panel discussion entitled “Trends and Challenges in Today’s Microfinance Landscape.” The panelists included Sarah Buitoni, senior associate at Women’s World Read more…

Posted in Events, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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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
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