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Look Good, Do Good
This week only, the social entrepreneurs at Sevenly selected Opportunity International as their featured nonprofit, designing t-shirts and a hoodie for sale to benefit our work. They were especially inspired by our work in India, focusing their week-long campaign on our microfinance there, especially health insurance through our microinsurance subsidiary MicroEnsure. After all, our financial services Read more…
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
Solar Panel Loans Offer a Beacon of Light for Ugandan Families
In November, launched a solar energy loan to provide power to families currently living with no or unreliable electricity. Opportunity Uganda is now offering clients like Betty Aute (pictured right), a papyrus weaver and mother of two, a solar panel loan of about $300, which covers panels and installation and is repayable over two years, to Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, electricity, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, Loans, MFI, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Uganda, solar panels, Technology, Uganda
What We’re Watching: Top 3 Conference Videos on Technology
Check out our top 3 videos on technology from our fall conference in San Francisco–click on the speakers’ names to watch. Steven Levy Senior writer at Wired; Author of In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives Steven Levy: “The most prominent leaders in the technology world today believe that the first step in Read more…
Tagged Africa, Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, and Shapes Our Lives, Banking on Africa, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Kevin Compton, Malawi, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Malawi, Steven Levy, Technology, Trust Group, videos, Wired magazine, Works
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
Breakout Session: Fighting Poverty with Technology
“There is never an end to the opportunities that are brought by technology; we are excited about what those are.” That’s how Daryl Skoog, senior VP of technology, ended his own introduction, as each of the members of the panel discussion was introducing themselves to the audience. Harry Turner, the panel facilitator and CEO of Read more…
Tagged Cell phone banking, Daryl Skoog, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Geoffrey Thige, Global Microfinance Operations, Harry Turner, Microensure, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Opportunity Kenya, Poverty, Richard Leftley, Robert Westcott, Technology
Breakout Session: From Silicon Valley to Sub-Saharan Africa: Innovations Shaping the World
Rob Meloche, Opportunity’s VP of marketing and communications, got the afternoon breakout session started by asking the members in the panel to place the conversation about innovation and technology in the context of the developing world. Each of the members in the panel contributed interesting reflections. Here are the highlights: Steven Levy, senior writer of Read more…
Tagged Africa, Aleksandr-Alain Kalanda, Ben Chelf, Bill Draper, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Poverty, Rob Meloche, Steven Levy, sub-Saharan Africa, Technology
Breakout Session: Agricultural Finance: Cultivating Hope
With 65% of the Sub-Saharan African labor force employed in agriculture, which provides 32% of GDP growth, according to the World Bank, the importance of the sector to the economy is clear. Agriculture is recognized as the key to revitalizing Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural regions and significantly reducing the level of poverty. In this breakout session, Read more…
Tagged Africa, Agricultural finance, Agriculture, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Food security, Global Poverty, John Magnay, Loans, Microfinance, OIC2011, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Microfinance Conference, Technology, World Bank
Conference LiveBlog: Steven Levy, Senior Writer for Wired Magazine
Kicking off this second Friday plenary session of the morning, Steven Levy, Senior Writer for Wired magazine, and author of In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives, talks about technology and how innovative thinking in the technological sector can truly offer solutions to the biggest global issues. Highlights from Steven Levy’s Read more…
