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News Blog

The Most Famous Person You’ve Never Heard of

by Rob Moll

Not many Nobel Peace Prize winners remain unknown in their home country. What is more surprising is that an estimated one-sixth of the world’s population is alive because of a man virtually invisible in the U.S. “Though barely known in the country of his birth,” wrote Gregg Easterbrook in his Atlantic profile from a decade ago, “elsewhere in the world Norman Borlaug is widely considered to be among the leading Americans of our age.” Mr. Borlaug died last week at the age of 95. Borlaug…

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UN Gathers This Week to Eradicate Poverty Through the MDGs

by Sonya Perez-Lauterbach

The UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is taking place this week at the UN Headquarters in New York City. A gathering of 140 world leaders are strategizing and discussing how to achieve the eight goals in order to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes by 2015. I was deeply inspired by their work and their words. Here are my reflections… “We must not fail the billions who look to the international community to fulfil the promise of the Millennium Declaration for…

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3 Breakout Sessions Not to Miss at Fall Microfinance Conference

by Emily Riemer

At Opportunity’s Fall Microfinance Conference, Oct. 8-9, in Washington, D.C., the days will be packed with breakout sessions and presentations from microfinance experts, international visitors and globally-minded individuals passionate about eradicating poverty. For me, this will be my first http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/Opportunity microfinance conference[/intlink], and I’m really looking forward to hearing from guest http://www.opportunity.org/opportunity-international-conference/speakers/speakers[/intlink]…

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Women Advancing Microfinance in Chicago

by Our Mission and Vision

At Opportunity International’s US office, we draw our motivation and sense of purpose from the stories of our clients and their families as they build a bridge out of poverty. This week, I am further inspired by a different group of people – the members of Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) Chicago. On September 17th this group of women microfinance professionals met together for the first time. Even in its infancy, WAM Chicago is the fastest growing chapter of WAM International. At the inaugural…

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YAO Runs to Eradicate Poverty in the Chicago Half Marathon & 5K

by Opportunity International

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 support to this effort. Runners and volunteers alike arrived bright and early on Sunday morning dressed in their red, black and white “I Heart Microfinance” t-shirts. The volunteers…

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Irene Pritzker, IDP Foundation, Honored with Global Philanthropy Award

by Opportunity International

Opportunity International congratulates Irene Pritzker, co-founder and president of the IDP Foundation, Inc., who will be honored with the Foreign Policy Association’s Global Philanthropy Award at the World Leadership Forum Dinner on Sept. 22, 2010. The IDP Foundation is ahttp://www.opportunity.org/about/strategic-partners/strategic partner[/intlink] to Opportunity International, working with us on campaigns to promote education and educational finance for entrepreneurs who receive http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/loans/loans[/intlink]…

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“5 Myths About Poverty that Christians Should Renounce” by Mark Lutz

by Mark Lutz

Mark Lutz, Opportunity’s senior vice president of global philanthropy and author of the book UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poor, wrote the following post on CNN’s Belief Blog, renouncing five myths about global poverty.  See the original post on CNN’sBelief Blog. To learn more about the book UnPoverty, check out UnPoverty.org and ourhttp://www.opportunity.org/blog/book-release-unpoverty/recent blog post[/intlink].  Poverty is not an issue. It’s people.  We hear about…

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News from Africa: New Mobile Banks and Bank Branches for Microfinance Clients in Mozambique

by Diane Ferguson

Great news from Mozambique! Banco Oportunidade de Moçambique is proud to announce the August opening of the Chokwé branch and Chimoio mobile bank.  Additionally, http://www.opportunity.org/our-work/where-we-work/microfinance-in-africa/microfinance-in-mozambique/Opportunity Mozambique[/intlink] expanded in 2010 with two new hub branch offices, and received approval from both the municipal and Central Bank authorities to open its first container branch office in the Matendene Market. It was…

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#MifiMon: Agricultural Finance–Tapping Into an Untapped Market

by Opportunity International

Bimonthly, we hold the Mifi Monday Twitter discussion on a number of topics related to microfinance. Next time, on Monday, Sept. 27, 12-2 p.m. CDT (GMT -5), join our discussion on educational finance, including small-scale educational entrepreneurs, and the impact of educational opportunities on all people, especially women and girls. In last Monday’s #mifimon conversation, we delved intohttp://www.opportunity.org/blog/john-magnay-on-food-security-in-africa-and-agricultural-finance/agricultural…

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What We’re Reading: The ONE Blog– “Africa’s Future is Female”

by Opportunity International

Every Wednesday on this blog, we’ll be highlighting an article, book or a blog in our “What We’re Reading” series. We’ll feature pieces or works that we think are noteworthy, inspiring, educational and 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 article that we’ve highlighted. This week we love the ONE Campaign‘s blog post, “Africa’s Future is Female,” highlighting their latest report about…

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