Blog Archives

The Power of Technology to Eradicate Poverty

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

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
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Credit Suisse’s Microfinance Work Recognized at the Financial Times/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards

 would like to offer our congratulations to  Credit Suisse. They were awarded a special commendation for their  program in the Sustainable Global Bank of the Year category at the Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Sustainable Finance Awards. The annual FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, now in their seventh year, are the major global awards for environmentally- and Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Events, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners, Technology
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Connecting in Rural Areas with Enterprise Open Sky (EOS) Technology

In remote areas of Mozambique, Ghana and Rwanda, far from the nearest brick-and-mortar bank branch, many Opportunity International clients, regardless of where they live or work, can make transactions in real time using Enterprise Open Sky (EOS). Built by Opportunity’s MIS Services, EOS is a set of computer programs that works seamlessly in conjunction with the core banking system, provided Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, Where We Work
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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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