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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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© 2026 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.

News Blog

“The Chronicle of Philanthropy” Spotlights Opportunity International as an Innovative Nonprofit

by Opportunity International

“The Chronicle of Philanthropy” featured Opportunity International‘s microinsurance work with subsidiary MicroEnsure and our CEO Vicki Escarra in an article published today. As part of Opportunity International’s commitment to bringing insurance to protect more people in poverty, Opportunity divested much of its share to allow for a capital infusion that will increase MicroEnsure’s market reach. Opportunity will continue to maintain the mission of this microinsurance organization. The shareholder…

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Microinsurance Expanded through New Strategic Investors

by Emily Riemer

Opportunity International announced today that it had divested its majority stake in microinsurance organization MicroEnsure. This will bring additional capital and relationships in order to scale the successful MicroEnsure microinsurance model to serve even more clients in poverty with crop, health, life and property insurance products. New investors in MicroEnsure include International Finance Corporation (IFC), Omidyar Network and select members of the MicroEnsure management team. Opportunity…

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What We’re Reading: Council on Foreign Relations, “Five Development Innovations to Watch in 2013″

by Emily Riemer

MicroEnsure, the microinsurance subsidiary founded by Opportunity International, was recently recognized by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a “development innovation to watch in 2013.” In a blog post last month, CFR reported that MicroEnsure has “sign[ed] up a million [life insurance] customers [in Ghana] over 14 months, 85% of them new to insurance” by linking life insurance to mobile phone payment plans. As more airtime is used by subscribers to local carrier Tigo, the more free…

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What We’re Reading: Vicki Escarra in the Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurial Supporters Empower Communities in Nicaragua

by Opportunity International

At Opportunity International, we see our experienced, resourced entrepreneurial supporters as a major asset to the organization that has led to ground-breaking innovations in our work. Today, in the Harvard Business Review, our CEO Vicki Escarra wrote a piece entitled “Funders Can Give More than Money.” Opportunity International’s staff and supporters are a team of innovators. Vicki’s article highlights the success of our community economic development (CED) projects in Nicaragua as a testament…

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$1.2 Million Raised, 8,000 Women Empowered in One Woman Holiday Challenge

by Opportunity International

A big thank you to the hundreds of amazing people who joined Opportunity International’s One Woman Holiday Challenge. At the end of 2012, we contributed more than $1.2 million in just 45 days to empower women in poverty! Together, we enabled over 8,000 women to grow businesses, increase their incomes, and have safe places to save, helping them to provide a better future for their families. What does one gift mean to one woman? Clean Water through Community Leadership For Ana Celia Acuña, a gift…

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Uganda Clients Increase Savings

by Opportunity International

Leveraging creative community outreach, Opportunity International Uganda is helping clients invest in their own futures through savings accounts. In just a few months in 2012, a savings drive launched by Opportunity Uganda increased the value of clients’ deposits by 23%, according to the bank’s CEO, André Lalumière. André attributes the campaign’s success to radio advertising and weekend branch events that help staff engage the local community. When Opportunity clients have a safe place…

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Opportunity Ghana Innovates to Reach More Marginalized Clients

by Opportunity International

Opportunity Ghana is using innovative technology to provide financial services to a greater number of impoverished people in remote and rural areas of the country, many of whom have never before had access to formal banking. Through a “hub-and-spoke” method, Opportunity International uses low-cost delivery methods, including kiosk satellite branches, point-of-sale (POS) devices, cell phone banking and mobile banking vehicles, to eradicate poverty in more underserved areas outside of urban centers. The…

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Six New Year’s Goals for Us All

by Emily Riemer

At Opportunity, we are putting the finishing touches on our personal resolutions and our big organizational goals for 2013. Here are six goals — both small and big — that will inspire us all. Feed more hungry people. Rwandan rice farmer Elina Uwingeneye is an agricultural finance client who uses loans to grow more crops with better fertilizers, increasing yields. Be nice to your mom. Loan client Maria Elena Tovar Gonzalez, from Guadalajara, Mexico, poses with her son. 93% of Opportunity’s loans…

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Your Last Chance in 2012 to Empower Women

by Opportunity International

We’re just hours before the close of 2012. Before midnight, make an investment in the life of one of Opportunity International‘s women clients, giving her hope for a better future. Empower women like Rosemary Namande of Uganda to earn an income, have a safe place to save, and provide a better life for herself and others in her community. Rosemary runs the Nadulu Infant Primary School in Kampala. Forty years ago, she opened a tiny school for infants in makeshift quarters. Today, thanks to tireless…

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Cracking the Code on Food Security: YAO Leader Samantha Snabes Uses Technology to End Hunger

by Emily Riemer

“The Opportunity International Conference changed my life,” says Young Ambassador Samantha Snabes. The fall 2011 conference, says the NASA “social entrepreneur in residence,” was the moment when she became inspired to take action to do her part to end global poverty. Shortly thereafter, she became part of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO) and is currently working to launch a YAO chapter in Austin, Texas, where she lives. Now, as we chat, Sam can hardly contain her excitement about enabling…

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