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Carol Stream, Illinois 60132

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

News Blog

One Woman’s Determination to Transform her Life & her Community in Manila

by Opportunity International

Through one woman’s determination to overcome chronic poverty, she has grown to transform her life and make the future better for people in her community — especially the children in her Manila neighborhood. Opportunity International client Ana Serrano of the Philippines embodies the power of one person to impact the lives of many. Ana Serrano survived the first 20 years of her life on a Manila garbage dump, sifting through heaps of trash and dead animals to find food to eat and recyclables to…

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One Woman Holiday Challenge Launches Today for Opportunity’s Women Clients

by Vicki Escarra

This holiday season, with your help, Opportunity International has the potential to fund 6,000 new loans for women around the world. For our new campaign, the One Woman Holiday Challenge, we have an ambitious goal of raising $450,000 in 45 days. And thanks to a generous donor, all gifts to the campaign will be matched one to one up to $450,000. More than 1.5 billion people live in extreme poverty and many are women entrepreneurs with a plan to help themselves, their families and their communities.…

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CEO Vicki Escarra Checks in from 2012 Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna

by Vicki Escarra

This is an inspiring week as I attended the fourth annual Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna, Austria, where several hundred leaders from the corporate, academic and NGO settings gathered to explore the future of management and its impact on the future of global society. Peter F. Drucker was a management consultant, educator, author and contributor to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern business whose name graces two institutions at Claremont Graduate University in California:…

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We Invest in Leaders with Staff Transformation and Capacity Building in the Democratic Republic of Congo

by Diane Ferguson

In Democratic Republic of Congo, a highly skilled mentor becomes the catalyst for a lifetime of stability for women and their families. That’s what happens when Opportunity International’s capacity building programs equip staff with the knowledge and skill to guide families through their journey out of poverty. This program puts special emphasis on developing women, and identifying and investing in future leaders. In DR Congo, it empowered staff like Laurette Naul. In August, Opportunity’s…

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With a Grant from Citi Foundation, Opportunity Brings Financial Solutions to More Colombians

by Opportunity International

Opportunity opened a financially-regulated, full-service bank to serve people living in extreme poverty in Bogotá, Colombia in early October. Leveraging a grant from Citi Foundation, a long-time supporter of programs promoting the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of low-income people, we’re developing the capacity to conduct formal banking transactions, including interest-bearing savings, with the goal of reaching 37,000 savings clients and mobilizing $40 million in deposits over the…

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Credit Suisse Celebrates 10 Years of Microfinance

by Opportunity International

Congratulations to our corporate partner Credit Suisse on achieving 10 years of leadership in microfinance. Opportunity International CEO Vicki Escarra participated in two panel discussions, both of which highlighted innovations in products and delivery mechanisms to reach and serve clients more effectively. “We take a private equity approach by providing leadership and financial training as well as health and welfare education around that loan,” she said. Today, Opportunity provides financial…

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Habitat for Humanity & Opportunity Join Forces to Improve Housing in Africa

by Opportunity International

Opportunity International and Habitat for Humanity announced a new partnership to increase access to better housing for families living in poverty. The two organizations will collaborate to provide home improvement financing, housing support services and construction technical assistance to impoverished people to enhance the well-being of communities, beginning in Ghana, followed by Malawi and Uganda. By 2030, Africa is expected to have the world’s highest urbanization rate, with 50% of the population…

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Opportunity Colombia’s Grand Opening Celebration as a Deposit-Taking Bank

by Dennis Ripley

Opportunity Colombia celebrated its grand opening event in Bogota last month. As a regulated financial institution, Opportunity Colombia can now offer a full range of financial services to its clients, including interest-bearing savings. By 2015 it aims to reach 60,000 Colombians who live at the base of the economic pyramid. With 150 attendees at the beautiful Metropolitan Club, in the hills above Bogota, Opportunity Colombia’s CEO Enrique Ordonez and his staff were on hand to welcome the finance…

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What We’re Watching: Change Makers and Great Videos at the Global Citizen Festival in New York

by Opportunity International

In late September, 60,000 people, including Opportunity supporters from the NYC chapter of Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, descended on Central Park for the largest syndicated charity concert in online and broadcast TV history. The Global Poverty Project‘s Global Citizen Festival brought together change makers with artists such as Neil Young, Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses and K’Naan. On the eve of the opening day of the UN General Assembly they urged world leaders…

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Opportunity Teams Battle Hurricane Sandy & Cyclone Neelam at Home and Abroad

by Emily Riemer

As many of our own Opportunity team members along the East Coast of the U.S. await power and water services following Hurricane Sandy, we join the rest of America in mourning the loss of life and the destruction of property. We applaud our first responders and the many public officials guiding us through these trying times. At the same time, in India, where Cyclone Neelam touched down Wednesday in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, eleven people have been reported dead, power is down and…

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