Blog Archives

Check It Out! Credit Suisse Reports on the Impact of Microfinance & Technology in Malawi

We’re pleased to announce that Opportunity International is featured in this month’s Credit Suisse Bulletin. The four-page article, which was the result of Credit Suisse’s visit to Opportunity Malawi last year, is located on pages 42-45. Click here to see a complete copy of the Bulletin or read the story online. In addition, Credit Suisse has Read more…

Posted in Loans, Local Staffing, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, Technology, Training, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Opportunity Staff Interview on BBC Radio 2

Listen today! BBC Radio 2‘s Jeremy Vine interviews Nick Lea, development economist and an Opportunity trustee, and Lydia Baffour Awuah, head of Africa programs at Opportunity UK. Recording of interview is only available until 2:02 p.m. GMT+1 on Tuesday, Aug. 30th (9:02 a.m. EST in the United States). Listen to the 10-minute interview by clicking here. ** (The interview Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Leadership, Our Work, Resources, Savings, Trust Groups, Where We Work
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Photo Blog: We’re Banking on Africa

This summer, Opportunity has launched the Banking on Africa Campaign. The campaign aims to bring millions of Sub-Saharan Africans closer to the day when they can safely deposit their savings, access loans to grow businesses, and purchase affordable insurance to protect their families—right in their own communities. Check out a photo tour below of some Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Events, Our Leadership, Resources, Where We Work
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My Inspirational Meeting in Malawi with Microfinance Client Mary Jackson

Recently, Opportunity International staff members traveled to Malawi, seeing firsthand how technology enables us to deliver microfinance services to rural people living in extreme poverty. They met with Opportunity Malawi clients and local staff to capture the stories of entrepreneurs who are working hard to break the cycle of poverty. Below, read staff member Cynthia’s account of her meeting with Read more…

Posted in Loans, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Savings, Strategic Partners, Training, Where We Work
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What We’re Reading: “Rural and Agricultural Finance in the Spotlight at Cracking the Nut Conference”

A few weeks ago, Shari Berenbach, Director of USAID’s Microenterprise Development Office, wrote a blog post on the USAID’s IMPACTblog reported on a conference held in Washington that directly addressed the problems that face agricultural microfinance, as 600 million smallholder farmers currently live on less than $2 a day. Speakers at the conference emphasized new Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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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…

Posted in Events, Microinsurance, Our Work, Resources, Strategic Partners
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YAO Member on Chicago Microfinance Conference & How Innovations Expand the Reach of Savings

The following guest post was written by Lauren Dillon, a co-chair of the Chicago chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) who works at Illinois-based nonprofit Oasis International. Innovation is at the heart of microfinance. It’s also the engine that propels it. Innovation is packed with chance, risk, fun, adventure! And, when coupled with microfinance, Read more…

Posted in Events, Microinsurance, Our Work, Savings, Technology, Training, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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The Christian Science Monitor on Biometrics & Mobile Money at Opportunity Malawi

The Christian Science Monitor today posted an article entitled, “Villages Leapfrog the Grid with Biometrics and Mobile Money,” which lauds these technologies as a way for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid to access financial services and protect themselves in the case of drought and disasters. Today’s story is part of a series Read more…

Posted in Rural Outreach, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Honor Opportunity’s Women Clients Today for International Women’s Day 2011

On this 100th anniversary, we celebrate the significant progress that has been achieved through determined advocacy, practical action and enlightened policy making. Yet, in too many countries and societies, women remain second-class citizens. [...] In the home and at school, in the workplace and in the community, being female too often means being vulnerable.  -U.N. Read more…

Posted in Events, Insight Trips, OptINnow, Our Mission and Vision, Our Motivation, Our Work, Technology, Women's Opportunity Network
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“Banking on Women” with Access to Microsavings

The following piece, “Banking on Women,” was published in USA Today‘s special supplement “Investing in Women & Girls” on Friday, March 4. In Blantyre, Malawi, dozens of women sell potatoes in the marketplace. But Grace Msowoya and her business partner Betty Louhana stand out. Frustrated by their small profit margins, they became the first women to Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Leadership, Our Mission and Vision, Resources, Rural Outreach, Savings, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work, Women's Opportunity Network
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