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News Blog

New Video: Opportunity International Emerging Leaders Program

by Opportunity International

We have just posted a new, updated video about our work with the inspiring women in the Goldman Sachs Emerging Leader Program. Part of the 10,000 Women Initiative, the Emerging Leaders Program is changing the lives of young women working for Opportunity International in eight African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo). These women receive training in banking and finance to help them establish or advance careers in microfinance…

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Blog Action Day: The Need for Clean Water

by Opportunity International

Today is Blog Action Day from change.org. The theme this year is the worldwide struggle for clean, safe drinking water. “Why Water?” asks change.org. “Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation.” A few facts from charity: water, one of this year’s Blog Action Day partners: Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking…

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Poverty Eradication Day is Sunday, Oct. 17

by Opportunity International

Honor the International Day to Eradicate Poverty (More information can be found at un.org) On October 17, 1987, more than 100,000 people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris to show their outrage over global poverty, and declare it as a violation of human rights. Every year since then, supporters gather on Oct. 17 to show their commitment to the fight against extreme poverty. In 1992, the U.N. officially made Oct. 17 theInternational Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited states, agencies,…

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Conference Breakout: Investing in Half the Sky

by Sonja Egeland Kelly

The following post by YAO member and Opportunity supporter Sonja Egeland Kelly is one of the many blog posts we published from the2010 Fall Microfinance Conference. Click here to read all our conference blog posts…  Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s compelling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, reminds its readers that “women hold up half the sky.” The book discusses the movement to emancipate women from opporession and fight global…

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What We’re Reading: Putting Savings in the Bank in the Era of Climate Change

by Annsley Scruton-Wilson

Every Wednesday, we highlight an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We feature works that are noteworthy, inspiring, educational or relevant to the work we do at Opportunity. We welcome your comments in the comment field below–tell us what you’re reading, or respond to the piece we’ve highlighted. The following post by Opportunity’s program manager, Annsley Scruton-Wilson, uses a 2009 article in The Economist as the catalyst for an examination of the potential…

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Conference Breakout: Engaging the Next Generation of Microfinance Champions

by Sonja Egeland Kelly

The following post by YAO member and Opportunity supporter Sonja Egeland Kelly is one of the many blog posts we published from the 2010 Fall Microfinance Conference. Click here to read all our conference blog posts… Recognizing the importance of inspiring the next generation of microfinance champions, thehttp://www.opportunity.org/young-ambassadors-for-opportunity/Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO)[/intlink] breakout session at the Microfinance Conference emphasized inspiring, educating,…

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In Closing: Ambassador Tony Hall and More Conclude the Microfinance Conference

by Opportunity International

We began the final plenary session of the http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/2010 Fall Microfinance Conference[/intlink] with Ambassador Tony Hall, one of the world’s leading and most inspiring advocates for hunger relief, poverty eradication and human rights, and the author of Changing the Face of Hunger. Today, he is interviewed on stage by our SVP of human resources, Connie Stryjak. Tony Hall Hall described to the audience his nearly 30-year-long fight to eradicate…

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LiveBlog: Innovating Technology: Bringing the Bank to the Doorstep of the Poor

by Sonja Egeland Kelly

“The cell phone has won. Everybody wants a cell phone, and they are at a price point that our customers can afford.” Daryl Skoog, Senior Vice President, Technology, explained how the cell phone is revolutionizing microfinance banking. “These networks enable us to move information locally where we were unable to do that before. We implemented cell phone banking in January, and by March, 40% of our customers were using it.” The http://www.opportunity.org/blog/cell-phone-banking-examination/cell…

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LiveBlog: Plenary Session III: Will Ball, Knight Kiplinger and more

by Opportunity International

This Friday evening plenary session features Opportunity CEO, Bill Morgenstern; chair of the Opportunity Board of Governors, Mary Lynn Staley; director of credit support at Opportunity Rwanda, Alice Gasatura; vice president of the Caterpillar Foundation, Will Ball; economic journalist and editor-in-chief of The Kiplinger Letter, Knight Kiplinger; and Dale Hanson Bourke, president of the CIDRZ Foundation, which supports AIDS research and treatment programs in Africa. Bill Morgenstern opened the session…

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LiveBlog: Rural Finance in Africa: It’s Our Opportunity

by Opportunity International

Sixty-five percent of the sub-Saharan African labor force is employed in agriculture, yet the region’s agricultural sector receives just 4% of official development assistance. In this breakout session, http://www.opportunity.org/blog/john-magnay-on-food-security-in-africa-and-agricultural-finance/John Magnay[/intlink] discusses how Opportunity effectively reaches agricultural clients with microfinance services, and he details strategies he’s developed to support the rural sector using a range…

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