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What We’re Reading: Last Week’s Insight Trip to Colombia & Nicaragua
Opportunity International staff and contributors just returned this week from the first Insight Trip of 2012. Their travel adventure took them to Colombia and Nicaragua where they experienced microfinance firsthand and met our staff and clients. Four of our travelers published their personal accounts and reflections on a travel blog at adventuringincolombianicaragua.tumblr.com and we’ve loved reading each Read more…
Tagged Adventuring in Colombia & Nicaragua, Agricultural finance, Blog, Clients, Colombia, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Insight Trip, Latin America, Loans, local staff, Microfinance, Nicaragua, ojala, Opportunity Colombia, Opportunity International, Opportunity Nicaragua, Poverty, Savings, Training, Travel, Trust Groups, Tumblr
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…
Tagged Africa, ATMs, biometric fingerprint technology, biometric technology, Cell phone banking, Clients, Credit Suisse, Electronic wallet strategy, Financial literacy programs, financial literacy training, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile banking vehicle, mobile phone banking, Opportunity International, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, regional manager, Rural Outreach, Savings, Technology, Training, Trust Groups, Women
Growing Rural Economies through Agricultural Finance in Africa
In the last decade, Opportunity International embarked on an agricultural finance and rural savings program to spur economic activity and provide enduring resources for smallholder farmers and other rural clients in five African countries, including Uganda, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Rwanda. Opportunity’s approach is to help farmers move from subsistence growing to cash crop production Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Breakout session, coffee farmer, Crop insurance, Ending Poverty, Insurance, John Magnay, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity Ghana, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, opportunity mozambique, Opportunity Rwanda, Opportunity Uganda, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, Training
Conference LiveBlog: Geoffrey Thige, COO of Opportunity Kenya
Geoffrey Thige, the dynamic chief operating officer of Opportunity International Kenya, shares from the conference mainstage all about the work and progress Opportunity Kenya has made, utilizing solutions that include mobile phone banking, microinsurance, financial literacy training and more to help clients build a better life. Highlights from Geoff Thige In Kenya, we have 39 Read more…
Tagged Africa, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geoffrey Thige, Global Poverty, Kenya, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, mobile phone banking, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Savings, Technology, Training
Conference LiveBlog: Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, CEO of Opportunity Malawi
This morning, the impassioned and inspiring Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, CEO of Opportunity Malawi, spoke at the conference plenary session about the triumphs of launching Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) in 2003–offering formal financial services to impoverished people in Malawi–and the ongoing challenges they still need to address in order to access more of that country. Read more…
Tagged Africa, Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Loans, Malawi, MFI, Microfinance, OIBM, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, Savings
Conference LiveBlog: Daryl Collins, Co-Author of Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day
This morning at the Opportunity International Conference, Daryl Collins, co-author of Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day, spoke from the main stage about the financial portfolios of people in poverty and the impact that has to mitigate the effects of their uncertain financial futures. Highlights from Daryl’s Read more…
Tagged Africa, Asia, Daryl Collins, Ending Poverty, Financial services, India, Latin America, Loans, Microfinance, OIC2011, Portfolios of the Poor, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day, Savings, South Africa
What We’re Watching: Banking on Education Video by Students of the World at CGI 2011
We’re watching this video produced in partnership with Students of the World, which had its world premiere on the main stage at this year’s CGI. In it, Opportunity staff and clients discuss the goals and the impact of our Banking on Education program, which provides , and to 280 schools serving 120,000 students in Malawi, Uganda and Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Education, CGI 2011, Clinton Global Initiative, Community, Conference, Education, Effie Cooke, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Ghana, Global Poverty, Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka, Loan Officer, Loans, Malawi, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Savings, School Proprietor Loans, Schools, Students of the World, Training, Uganda, videos
Supporting Rural Farmers, Reducing Poverty and Hunger
The John Deere Foundation recently approved a $2.5 million grant to support Opportunity’s agricultural finance program, which will extend a full range of financial services and crop-specific to smallholder farmers in five countries in Africa. “We are impressed with the progress that Opportunity International has made in increasing access to financial services for African farmers, food processors and retailers,” said John Bustle, vice president, John Deere Foundation. “Likewise, we are Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Banking on Africa, Clients, crops, Ending Poverty, Farmers, Financial services, Food security, Ghana, Global Poverty, john deere, john deere foundation, Loan Officer, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Poverty, Savings, Smallholder farmer, sub-Saharan Africa
A Look Back at YAO’s Summer Fun 2011
Summer 2011 was a busy season for YAO chapters across the country. From a soccer tournament in San Francisco, to the Chicago Half Marathon, to networking at Chapter Happy Hours, Young Ambassadors organized fun summer events that got them inspired and energized to put their passion to end poverty into action. Here are highlights from Read more…
Tagged Africa, Banking on Africa, Chicago Half Marathon, chicago half marathon and 5K, Community, Conference, Ending Poverty, Events, Facebook, Financial services, fundraisers, Global Poverty, Insurance, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Tanzania, Poverty, Savings, Tanzania, Training, YAO, YAO - San Francisco, YAO-Chicago, YAO-Denver, yao-la, yao-los angeles, YAO-New York, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
