Stories
Opportunity Canada: 3 Girls Go Plaid for People in the Developing World
We’re always looking for cool new ways that Opportunity supporters find to help us end poverty. So when we read this story on Opportunity Canada’s blog about three teens going plaid for Opportunity, we loved it! Check it out below or on opportunityinternational.ca. Three girls, one shirt, one pair of shoes, 100 days, 2,500 dollars, 17 women, 85 lives. What does this mean? Nothing to most of us, but when those three girls are Abby, Bethany, and Chrissy it means a lot more. These three junior high…
Read MoreOpportunity Promotes Entrepreneurship for the Next Generation in Nicaragua
Opportunity International is launching a Technical High School to teach youth entrepreneurship skills in the agriculture and tourism industries as part of its community development initiative in Nicaragua. Opportunity recently broke ground on its Entrepreneurial Technical High School in Diriomo, Nicaragua. The school will provide rural students with the education and training they need to rise out of poverty. It will also provide the community with educated and skilled workers to catalyze regional…
Read MoreMeet Our Staff: Why Do I Believe in Opportunity?
In May of 2010, I attended a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where Melanne Verveer, the first-ever U.S. ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, spoke to the significance of investing in women as a means to drive economic growth in the developing world. Equally as captivating as Ambassador Verveer’s remarks was being in a room filled with hundreds of other people championing for women’s empowerment and taking a stand against injustice. It was at this lunch that…
Read MoreWhat 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 of their takes on it. Check them out: Day 1 in Colombia – a photo blog of clients and staff……
Read MoreCheck 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. Click here to watch new video on credit-suisse.com featuring Opportunity's technological innovations in Malawi, and the impact they have on the lives and businesses of rural clients…
Read MoreWhat We’re Reading: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1964 Nobel Lecture on Racial Injustice, Poverty, and War
On December 11, 1964, the day after he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave this lecture at the University of Oslo in Norway. In the lecture, he discussed what he said was “the most pressing problem facing mankind today,” which is a moral and spiritual poverty. As King put it: "This problem of spiritual and moral ‘lag,’ which constitutes modern man’s chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man’s ethical infantilism. Each of…
Read MoreTop 5 Highlights from Opportunity’s 2011 in Review
As we take the first steps into 2012, it’s good to see where Opportunity International ventured on the road of 2011. We ran all over the globe and hiked into new territory both literally and figuratively. We celebrated milestones, and went to new heights, for the sake of our clients and the sustainable work of microfinance. Sometimes it can be a wild ride, but it sure is a good one. The five big events below are just a few of the highlights from Opportunity’s year. 1. An Insightful Journey At…
Read MoreOpportunity Tanzania is Listening to Microfinance Clients and Growing
Opportunity Tanzania achieved strong growth during 2011. As of September 30th, Opportunity Tanzania was serving 5,705 microentrepreneurs with loans, reflecting an 84% growth in just nine months, having begun 2011 with 3,093 clients. Entrepreneurs like produce seller Joyce Williamson (pictured) are using loans to improve their businesses and generate more income for their families. More about Joyce Joyce is the chairperson of the Upendo Mwanga Trust Group in Mwanga, and a mother of four who goes…
Read MoreCell Phones Deliver Life Insurance
In October 2010, Opportunity International’s microinsurance subsidiary, MicroEnsure, launched a pilot test with the mobile network Tigo Ghana around a new product embedded into the subscriber’s airtime purchases. The more airtime Tigo customers purchase, the more free life insurance they earn for themselves and a second family member. For Tigo, this insurance has helped reduce client churn and increase airtime sales. After the successful pilot, MicroEnsure scaled up the operation in Ghana, reaching…
Read MoreThank You for Your Partnership in 2011
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your partnership in 2011. As we look back on the year, we know that it’s because of your ongoing support that Opportunity International is able to empower our clients and their families with life-changing opportunity. Of course, there’s still so much to do. This past year marked Opportunity’s 40th anniversary of bringing life-changing financial solutions to the world’s most impoverished people. As we start the new year, we’re looking forward…
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