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

News Blog

CGI Session-Going Small for Big Results: Microfranchise and Entrepreneurial Growth

by Opportunity International

It’s been a full first day already at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. This morning, CGI sessions have explored climate change with President Clinton and eight other world leaders, population issues with Clinton and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Then, attendees learned about development in post-conflict zones at a keynote lunch featuring philanthropist and former “Lost Boy of Sudan,” Valentino…

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What We’re Reading: The Huffington Post on a Microfinance Client in Bogotá

by Elmira Bayrasli

The following post, “Turning Bogota’s Red Light Green: The Miracle of Microfinance,” by Elmira Bayrasli, was published on The Huffington Post on Monday, Sept. 12. It explores the impact of Opportunity’s microfinance work in Colombia, including loans, savings and training, on one Bogotá client. The original post on huffingtonpost.com can be found by clicking here. Bogotá’s red light district, zona roja, is gritty and grim. It teems with drug addicts, transvestites and menacing figures…

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Class Is in Session at Neighborhood School Near Kumasi, Ghana

by Opportunity International

As U.S. students settle into the new school year, we check in with a Ghanaian school in the IDP Rising Schools Program, an initiative created and implemented by the IDP Foundation, Inc., in partnership with Opportunity International and Sinapi Aba Trust (SAT), which funds the development of quality local private schools in Ghana through school proprietor loans and other financial and capacity-building services. Supreme David Educational Complex is situated in Buoho, outside of Kumasi, in the Ashanti…

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Kenyan Government Declares Two Days of Mourning for Victims of Monday’s Fire

by Opportunity International

On Tuesday, Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki declared Wednesday, Sept. 14 and Thursday, Sept. 15 to be days of national mourning following Monday’s oil pipeline fire that has claimed the lives of more than 100 people to date, and injured more than 100 others. The president and the national Cabinet have determined that during these two days, the national flag shall fly at half-mast and there will be no celebrations. They also made an official public statement expressing their sincerest sympathies…

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Retrospective on Opportunity’s 40 Years: Spotlight on the 1990s

by Opportunity International

Opportunity International celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. In honor of our four decades partnering with microfinance clients, we’re taking a look back at all the triumphs and joys of helping people around the world create change in their lives. A Look Back at the ’90s In the 1990s, Opportunity expanded into new continents, bringing tremendous growth as we began serving Africans and Eastern Europeans living in extreme poverty. Opportunity reached a milestone of 25,000 active clients…

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Photo Journey of Meeting Microfinance Clients in Rwanda and Uganda

by Opportunity supporter Fred of Hillsborough, Calif.

Uganda- A young girl welcomes an Opportunity International visitor from the floor of her father’s shop in a Kampala market. Her young father is an enterprising entrepreneur and Trust Group member who runs a small boutique that sells both new and old clothes, mattresses, and small luggage. Business is good, he reports, and he is looking to expand his business. With his ingenuity, hard work and business savvy, along with Opportunity’s loans, he has good reason to be optimistic about his family’s…

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What We’re Reading: ONE Blog on Horn of Africa Conference Call with Dikembe Mutombo, Cindy McCain, K’naan

by ONE Blog

On Friday, Aug. 26th, ONE hosted a conference call with Cindy McCain, musician K’naan and NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo about the famine in the Horn of Africa, answering ONE members’ questions and discussing news from the ground. Below, see the post on the ONE Blog about the call. “How can we help?” That was the question on many ONE members’ minds during today’s conference call with musician K’naan, Cindy McCain, and NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo as they discussed scenes on the ground in…

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We’re Celebrating 40 Years of Poverty Alleviation through Microfinance

by Opportunity International

For 40 years, Opportunity International has been blessed to serve millions of microfinance clients and honored to partner with passionate supporters committed to ending global poverty. Today, our staff touches the lives of clients on four continents, we develop innovative products that protect families and communities, expand services to remote and rural areas, and so much more. Click here to see our 40th anniversary photo slideshow. Check out our 40th anniversary photo slideshow for a retrospective…

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Back to School with a Visit to See Education Finance in Action in Uganda

by Mark Lutz

As we head back to school in the U.S., we’re thinking a lot about our educational loan clients and school proprietors around the world, and the impoverished children who are receiving an education because of them. Here, staff member Mark shares what he learned about education finance on his recent visit to a primary school in Kampala, Uganda. On this trip, we’ve learned that 50 percent of Uganda’s population is 15 years old or younger. That’s a lot of children to educate. Law requires that…

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Opportunity Staff Interview on BBC Radio 2

by Opportunity International

Listen today! BBC Radio 2‘s Jeremy Vine interviews Nick Lea, development economist and an Opportunity trustee, and Lydia Baffour Awuah, head of Africa programs at Opportunity UK. Recording of interview is only available until 2:02 p.m. GMT+1 on Tuesday, Aug. 30th (9:02 a.m. EST in the United States). Listen to the 10-minute interview by clicking here. ** (The interview runs 34:09-44:44.) Lydia Baffour Awuah Lydia shares that over 20 years ago her mother got her first microloan, investing it in…

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