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© 2026 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.
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Microfinance’s Risky Lending Is a Safe Bet

by Kadita Tshibaka

The following post by Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, on our Board of Directors, was originally published on The Huffington Post. As I look at the microfinance industry globally, I’m encouraged by the trends and the progress we’ve achieved so far. Whether you search in Wikipedia, CGAP or MIX Market, whatever the source of the data and however qualified, microfinance does have an impact on the lives of some 100 million clients today. And when you take into account that our clients are supporting an…

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Christy Turlington Burns Visits Opportunity Tanzania with Every Mother Counts

by Opportunity International

At the end of August, Christy Turlington Burns, Opportunity International partner, model and philanthropist, took a day out from her family vacation in Tanzania to see our Arusha branch. Christy is the founder of Every Mother Counts, an advocacy and mobilization campaign that increases education and support for maternal mortality worldwide, and the director/producer of the documentary film, No Woman, No Cry. In Arusha, she met with staff and clients, including Stanley Tsikirayi, CEO of Opportunity…

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What We’re Watching: IDP Rising Schools Brings Better Education to Ghanaian Kids

by Opportunity International

About IDP A growing body of research reveals many of the world’s most impoverished parents choose to send their children to private schools instead of subsidized or free government schools. These private schools are owned and operated by local school proprietors who charge an affordable tuition to parents who demand higher accountability than the government sector can provide. However, despite growing market demand, low-cost private schools lack access to many basic services. In response to this…

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The Fruits of their Labor

by Opportunity International

As we celebrate our Monday off for Labor Day, most of us don’t realize it’s a national holiday started by the labor movement to honor the achievements of working people with a much-needed day of rest. Our clients are some of the hardest-working people we know and so we wanted to take a moment to lift up just a few of them in honor of this U.S. holiday. Below, meet three resourceful, energetic entrepreneurs who are transforming their lives through Opportunity, ingenuity and very hard work. Have…

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Meet Our Staff: How World Travel Brought Me Home to YAO

by Allison Kooser

For the past month, when people have asked me how I am doing, I have answered, “I’m living the dream!” As the new manager of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, I spend my days interacting with smart, motivated, and fascinating individuals, travelling around the country strengthening communities of like-minded people in YAO chapters, and developing plans to better inspire, educate, and involve young leaders in the work of Opportunity International. Most importantly, I go to work each day knowing…

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Paying it Forward

by Dan Zarlenga

“I’m at a point in my life where I want to give back,” was his response. “You know, kind of pay it forward.” At the end of the training session for my alma mater’s mentoring program (I volunteer to help college students with their professional development) I had asked my fellow volunteer why he chose to participate. When he said “pay it forward” his tone of voice was unmistakably happy and perfectly genuine, while his face told the story of someone who had worked hard, had been greeted…

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Our Cover Star: Meet the Annual Report’s Annie Nyangomba of the DRC

by Emily Riemer

Annie Nyangomba is a 38-year-old mother of two who lives in Kinshasa, DR Congo. The smiling face of this client graces the cover of our 2011 Annual Report as she holds out her finger to be read biometrically at the Kinshasa branch of Opportunity's newest microfinance operations, Opportunity DRC. With support from the UNCDF, it’s one of the few places in the developing world offering this powerful technology, which requires only a fingerprint-embedded ID card to access an account. Even clients who…

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Success Story: Banking on Africa Campaign

by Diane Ferguson

In 2008, Opportunity embarked on its most ambitious effort to date, a $123.6 million Banking on Africa campaign to expand financial services for impoverished families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With the partnership of our committed supporters, we’re celebrating the successful completion of this campaign and we’re confident we’ll reach our Banking on Africa goal: to reach five million African clients by 2015, impacting families, communities, and an estimated 30 million people in total. Banking…

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A Better Future for the Congo: Developing the Next Generation of Congolese Fathers

by Kadita Tshibaka

The following post by Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, member of Opportunity’s Board of Directors, was originally published in The Huffington Post on Friday, June 15. The original post is here. My greatest challenge as a father has been the moments of terror when my children were gravely ill, and we thought we were going to lose them. It happened with my daughter and it happened with my son when they were young. Fortunately, they both survived. Growing up in the DR Congo, I’ve seen the toll that poverty,…

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Fathering Opportunity: Meeting Congolese Client and Father Figure Papa Roger

by Harry Turner

The following post is by Harry Turner, CEO of Opportunity’s Global Microfinance Operations, recounting his recent trip to DR Congo where he met Papa Roger, an extraordinary father and a father figure to a group of 17 orphaned young men. On our trip we visited client Papa Roger. There couldn’t be a more holistic view of a person committed to transformation than Papa Roger. Papa Roger’s business is to cook sweet potato chips (you can see the bags of them in the photo at left). He wakes at four…

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