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A Young Ambassador’s Report from the 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference
I left the 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, “Micronext: Strategies and Challenges of Social Impact,” impressed, energized and hungry for more. The conference focused on the strategies and challenges of social impact, facilitating discussions around the direction of and the lessons from past methodologies. The strong turnout included experts from various microfinance organizations, as well as Read more…
Tagged 2012 Chicago Microfinance Conference, Agricultural finance, Blog, Chicago Microfinance Conference, Conference, David Roodman, Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Global Poverty, home improvement loans, HOPE International, Impact, Insurance, Kellogg School of Management, Loans, Microfinance, northwestern university, Opportunity International, Poverty, Savings, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Young Professionals
Grandmas, Friends, Wives and Mothers: A Tribute to Important Women in Our Lives
(YAO) members and staff weigh in on the important women in their lives and what they mean to them: My Grandma is one of my soulmates. Her heart has always understood mine and I have always understood hers. Ever since I was a child we have been able to talk for hours about life, relationships, Read more…
Tunes for Tanzania–who knew a Tuesday could be this good?
While everyone seemed moved by the goal of building a bank in Tanzania, as I gauged from the robust rounds of applause, Tuesday’s Tunes for Tanzania event was also just a good time for all. We packed into Schubas in Chicago to listen to the music of three different bands; we strategized to win tantalizing Read more…
Tagged Africa, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, Go Long Mule, Ivory Coats, Microfinance, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, Rachel McClusky, Schubas, Tanzania, Tunes for Tanzania, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
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
Tanzania Reporter: Our Day at Arusha’s Faraja Center for Young Women
Reporting back from the recent YAO Insight Trip to Tanzania, Tanzania Correspondent Contest winner Kelly Flanagan shares photos from the community service day she and her fellow travelers spent at the Faraja Young Women Development Unit in Arusha. The Faraja Center is a residential facility that helps rehabilitate young female victims of human trafficking, offering them vocational Read more…
Tagged 2011 YAO Insight Trip, Africa, AJ Renold, Arusha, Banking on Women, Community, community service, Education, Ending Poverty, Global Poverty, Insight Trip, Opportunity International, Opportunity Tanzania, Opportunity-US, Poverty, Tanzania, Training, Women, Women's Philanthropy, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, Youth
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…
Tagged 2011 Chicago Microfinance Conference, Africa, biometric technology, biometrics, CARE, Cell phone banking, Chicago, Chicago Microfinance Conference, DePaul University, Education, Ending Poverty, Entrepreneurs, Financial services, Innovation, Malawi, MFI, MicroDreams, Microfinance, Mobile Banking, mobile phone banking, Oasis International, Opportunity International, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Opportunity Malawi, Poverty, Savings, Simona Haiduc, Technology, Tuition savings accounts, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, young entrepreneurs, Young Professionals
Over 150 Chicagoans Gather at Schubas for Tunes for Tanzania
Last night, on Tuesday, Nov. 30, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) held its first-ever Tunes for Tanzania. This was a benefit concert featuring local bands who came together to help raise money and awareness for Opportunity International’s microfinance work in Tanzania. Schubas Tavern, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, was packed with over 150 guests Read more…
YAO Runs to Eradicate Poverty in the Chicago Half Marathon & 5K
YAO member Taina Collazo shares why she ran the 5K: Last Sunday, YAO members arrived in Jackson Park in Chicago to take on a formidable challenge: run the Chicago Half Marathon & 5K to raise awareness and support for Opportunity’s poverty-eradicating initiatives in the developing world. Seventeen registered runners and a number of volunteers dedicated time and Read more…
Tagged Chicago Half Marathon, chicago half marathon and 5K, Clients, Ending Poverty, Financial services, fundraisers, Loans, Microfinance, Opportunity International, OptINnow, Poverty, taina collazo, Technology, YAO, YAO-Chicago, Young Ambassadors for Opportunity
What YAO is reading: Portfolios of the Poor
Last night, at Noble Tree cafe in Lincoln Park, YAO-Chicago held a book discussion for Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day. If you missed it, never fear. There will be more book discussions in YAO‘s future. In fact, we may have a followup to the discussion of Portfolios, a Read more…
