News
YAO Insight Trip Participants Reflect on the Microfinance…
In September 2009, 21 people traveled on a nine-day YAO Insight Trip to Tanzania. The diverse group included students, business-owners, financiers, and other globally-minded young people interested in…
Read MoreServing the People of Malawi with a New Satellite Bank…
Exciting news from Malawi… Opportunity Malawi has now opened a satellite bank branch in Ndirande Township, an informal settlement located three miles south of Blantyre and six miles from Limbe, and…
Read MoreMeeting My First Opportunity Tanzania Microfinance…
I went to interview my first Opportunity Tanzania clients today! They are part of the Neema Trust Group and are from a Dar Es Salaam neighborhood near the Ilala branch called Mburahati. Going to meet…
Read MoreWhy should you attend the Chicago Microfinance Conference…
This year, five of us from Opportunity International attended the 6th Annual Chicago Microfinance Conference at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Alongside other microfinance professionals,…
Read MoreThe Work of Trust Groups in Uganda
The focus of today centered on a truly exciting concept that I was looking forward to seeing in action: Opportunity International Trust Groups — the lending of money to business people in groups. Our…
Read MoreWill Microfinance Institutions Ever Be an Asset Class…
Last Friday at the Chicago Microfinance Conference, a group of investors explored the issue of microfinance investments and capital markets in a session entitled “Microfinance and Wall Street: Will…
Read MoreDoes Microfinance Work? Does Microfinance Fight Poverty?
The story of microfinance has always been compelling in its simplicity: A poor entrepreneur receives a loan. The loan enables her to purchase equipment or goods. She is then able to sell or increase sales…
Read MoreAmbassador Melanne Verveer Discusses the Global Roles…
Welcome to the 21st-century reality: empowering women in the developing world alleviates poverty and grows economies. Gender equality equals smart economic progress. On Tuesday, May 4, Ambassador Melanne…
Read MoreSome settling may have occurred. Please shake well…
I suspect that few things can shake the senses — the soul really — like traveling. More specifically, traveling to Africa. A first-timer to Africa, I have landed in Kampala, Uganda. Drawing on…
Read MoreBringing It All Home: The Challenges of Microfinance…
At the Chicago Microfinance Conference last Friday (at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business), a panel of experts from four domestic microfinance organizations discussed the ongoing challenges…
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