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News Blog

Opportunity Co-Hosts Financial Literacy Conference in Kenya

by Opportunity International

This week in Nairobi, Opportunity International and The Financial Education Fund (FEF)–which is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID)–are co-sponsoring a Financial Literacy Conference to explore how access to financial services can be facilitated and enhanced through financial education initiatives. The Financial Literacy Conference opened with remarks from Professor Njuguna S. Ndunu’u, governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, who emphasized that financial literacy not…

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Our Prayers for the Millions Affected by the Drought in East Africa

by Opportunity International

For the past two years, a drought has affected East Africa and has placed more than 10 million people at risk. The lack of rain, especially in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, has caused crops to fail, food prices to rise, and cattle to perish, reducing food sources and food security for the people. Unfortunately, there is no immediate end in sight, as rains are not expected in the near future and the harvest season will not occur for several months. In Kenya, it is estimated that 3.5 million people…

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Update: Opportunity DRC in Kinshasa Grows, Expanding Microfinance to More People of the Congo

by Opportunity International

Opportunity Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) celebrated its grand opening on May 19th in the capital city of Kinshasa. Since Opportunity International‘s arrival in the DRC, we’ve seen marked changes in the lives of the Congolese people. Opportunity DRC is extending much-needed microfinance products in a country where only 1% of the population has access to basic financial services. To date, over 690 Opportunity DRC clients have already received loans to grow their businesses. Two-thirds of…

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What We’re Reading: “Rural and Agricultural Finance in the Spotlight at Cracking the Nut Conference”

by Opportunity International

A few weeks ago, Shari Berenbach, Director of USAID’s Microenterprise Development Office, wrote a blog post on the USAID’s IMPACTblog reported on a conference held in Washington that directly addressed the problems that face agricultural microfinance, as 600 million smallholder farmers currently live on less than $2 a day. Speakers at the conference emphasized new technology as a way to overcome previous obstacles and create opportunities for these populations. Dr. William Jack of Georgetown…

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Students of the World (SOW): Ghanaian Agricultural Finance Client Beatrice is a “Lady of the Land”

by The Students of the World (SOW) Boston team

The Students of the World (SOW) Boston team has just returned from a month-long trip to Ghana to visit Opportunity Ghana‘s microfinance operations and document their experiences in dozens of photos, posts and more on their blog. You can see all their updates and content on their site, and stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog and our Facebook page for updates from their trip. The following post, “Lady of the Land,” was published on Wednesday, June 18 about Ghanaian agricultural client Beatrice…

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Celebrating Independence Day around the World

by Opportunity International

On Independence Day, Americans celebrate with fireworks, barbeques, and joyous gatherings. We celebrate our “Americanness” whole-heartedly today and believe our national identity is a representation of the freedom that we gained in 1776. With that being said, none of us were alive in 1776! In fact, the majority of us don’t have relatives that were in this country during independence. Yet, our desire to celebrate our love for this country manifests within us because of the freedoms it brought…

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Spotlight on Educational Microfinance & IDP Rising Schools: Students of the World (SOW) Meets Students & Educators in Ghana

by The Students of the World (SOW) Boston team

The Students of the World (SOW) Boston team is in Ghana all this month visiting Opportunity Ghana‘s microfinance operations and documenting their experiences in a diverse array of photos, posts and more on their blog. You can see all their updates and content on their site, and stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog and our Facebook page for updates from their trip. The following post was co-written by SOW with their Assistant Filmmaker Sarah Stein Lubrano. After arriving in a very lush Kumasi by bus,…

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Day 4: “Dream Big” – Opportunity Colombia Empowers Young Entrepreneurs, Mothers, Trust Groups & More through Microfinance

by Jeannette Stewart

The following travel post was written by Jeannette Stewart, a member of the Opportunity International Board of Governors living in Maryland. This week, Jeannette is traveling with her son on the Opportunity Family Week Insight Trip to Colombia. Other Colombia travelers have written posts this week too, catch up on all their adventures by reading their posts here. Teaching Cartagena’s Youth to Dream Big “Dream Big!” hailed Alejandra Sayas as she shared with us her greatest challenges and hopes…

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Day 3: Striving to Have Enough — Opportunities for Colombian People Through Savings

by David Gardner

The following travel post was written by David Gardner, a member of the Opportunity International Board of Governors and co-founder of The Motley Fool, a multimedia financial services company, living in Washington, D.C. with his wife Margaret and their teenage children. The Gardners are traveling right now on the Opportunity Family Week Insight Trip to Colombia. Margaret and daughter Katherine have each also written posts about the trip this week, which you can read here. Vanguard founder Jack Bogle’s…

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Day 2: Tales of Transformation in a Bogotá Trust Group

by Margaret Gardner

The following travel post was written by Margaret Gardner, a member of the Opportunity International Board of Governors living in Washington, D.C. Margaret is currently traveling on the Opportunity Family Week Insight Trip to Colombia with her husband David and their children. Her daughter Katherine wrote a blog post from Day 1 of the trip, which you can read here. The second day of our Colombia Insight Trip we visited the Opportunity offices in Bogotá. There we met the dedicated staff that supports…

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