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© 2026 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.
Headquarters: 101 N Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60606

News Blog

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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Greater Food Security Moves Small-Scale Farmers from Subsistence to Success

by Opportunity International

Millions of sub-Saharan Africans lack access to sufficient high-quality food. Even where natural resources are ample, people suffer from chronic malnourishment due to lack of access to financing, quality seed, fertilizer and distribution channels. That’s why Opportunity International is working to increase regional food security by equipping small-scale farmers with the resources they need to move from subsistence to commercial farming so that they can feed their families and their communities.…

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What We’re Reading: Forbes, “Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs”

by Emily Riemer

What do Richard Branson and Steve Jobs have in common with Opportunity International’s clients? Turns out, a whole lot. In a recent “Forbes” article by Patrick Hull, successful entrepreneurs are those willing to take risks and push boundaries. The article quotes Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson, who says, “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.” Perhaps this exemplifies the adventurous spirit that defines some wealthier…

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Christmas Greetings from Ghana and Opportunity’s Global Family

by Opportunity International

Merry Christmas from Opportunity International‘s global family to yours. On this sacred day, we wish you a Christmas filled with joy, peace and love! Effie Cooke, Opportunity’s head of human resources in Africa, brings a special message from Ghana in a joyful video below. We hope it brings you inspiration today and in the days to come. Merry Christmas and Afishapa from Ghana! Christmas Greetings from Ghana: Christmas Greetings from Ghana from Opportunity International on Vimeo.

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An Opportunity for Scrooge & the Untapped Power of George Bailey

by Steve Nelson

Bathed in the spotlight, Ebenezer Scrooge towered above the audience, sitting atop a 10-foot-tall desk in the opening scene of “A Christmas Carol.” My eye was drawn to the sign posted in front of his shop: “Scrooge and Marley Money Lenders.” It dawned on me that Scrooge was, in reality, a tight-fisted microfinance lender who cared only for personal financial gain rather than the success of his clients. As an Opportunity International staff member, I internalized this as I’ve always known…

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The Power of One Client, Felicitus, to Impact the Lives of Many

by Opportunity International

Felicitus Mmboge is one of the millions of Opportunity women clients who has used a small loan to seize a big opportunity, and achieve great change in her life, her family and her community. Twenty years ago, at the age of 22, Felicitus left her struggling village in Western Kenya and took a job as a maid in Nairobi so she could send money back to her family. Each week, she put a little money aside until she had enough to buy a few beauty products to sell in the street. When her employer passed away,…

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