Blog Archives

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…

Posted in Events, Our Work, Technology, What We're Reading, Where We Work
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Chicago Microfinance Conference: Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance?

At the 6th Annual Chicago Microfinance Conference on Friday, a panel of experts explored the possibilities and pitfalls of ever-changing technology in the microfinance industry. Moderator Preeth Gowdar, Kellogg School of Management, led the session entitled “Getting ‘Techy:’ Can Technology Innovations Transform Microfinance?” Gowdar started out with a story about when he was working in Read more…

Posted in Events, Our Work, Technology
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Gates and Mastercard Foundations Partner with Opportunity International

  In an effort to reach people living in poverty in rural areas, Opportunity International has researched and implemented new products and platforms such as mobile banking, savings services, agricultural finance, cell phone banking, education finance and much more. Because they believe in Opportunity International’s innovative model, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The MasterCard Foundation Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Rural Outreach, Strategic Partners
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Ask a Microfinance Expert: M-Banking

The microfinance landscape has changed because of the advent of mobile phone banking technology. With the simple use of a cellular phone, Opportunity clients can check their account balances, transfer money between accounts, send money to other people, pay bills, receive salary or government payments, and buy airtime. If the people cannot come to the Read more…

Posted in Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology
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The Power of Mobile Money

The microfinance world was buzzing this week about the latest edition of The Economist (9/24/09), which features a special report on the “power of mobile money.”  According to Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the mobile phone has become “the single most transformative tool for development.”  A number of innovative uses for the phone Read more…

Posted in Bank Building, Loans, Our Work, Rural Outreach, Technology, Training
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Insight Trip: Rwanda Day 4 – AJ Renold

This post is a part of an on-going series from members of the . It shares their stories as they travel from the United States to Tanzania and Rwanda. Today we visited Opportunity Rwanda’s bank branch in Nyamata, about a 45-minute drive from Kigali. When we arrived, we were greeted by three  who had been Read more…

Posted in Insight Trips, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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