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© 2024 Opportunity Internationala 501(c)3 nonprofit. EIN: 540907624.

Opportunity International Receives $200,000 from the Disney Family and Shamrock Holdings Executives

Grant will allow Opportunity International to establish 40 new Trust Banks in Peru

OAK BROOK, ILL., (May 8, 2006) — Opportunity International, a global microfinance organization, today announced that it has received a $200,000 contribution from The Roy E. Disney Family and executives of Shamrock Holdings, Inc., the investment vehicle of the Disney family. The money will be used to develop 40 new Trust Banks in northern Lima, Peru, and expand the organization’s $1.2 million campaign against poverty in the depressed area. This project will provide financial services to traditionally underserved communities, including loans for new businesses, savings accounts and potential insurance products. Opportunity International will also provide business training and encourage women’s empowerment.

A Trust Bank is a group of 15 to 40 poor entrepreneurs, primarily women, who meet weekly to make loan repayments, receive training in basic business practices, receive counseling in personal development and address community concerns. The average first Trust Bank loan is $84, and the money is used to start or expand a business – once the money is repaid, members are eligible for larger loans.

“We are enthusiastic to partner with the Disney family and Shamrock executives to help achieve our goal of elevating Peru and its poorest rural areas to a global microfinance center,” said Christopher Crane, chief executive officer of Opportunity International. “Opportunity International is committed to offering financial services to impoverished people to help them move away from a life of poverty. This grant leverages the private dollars that donors have provided to start our microfinance operations.”

“Opportunity International is a global leader in microfinance and we are impressed with its innovations and previous success around the world,” said Michael McConnell, managing director of Shamrock Holdings, Inc. “Opportunity International’s efforts in Peru will provide thousands of poor citizens with the financial tools to rise out of poverty and will demonstrate further that Peru is a strong market for microfinance.”

About Opportunity International

Opportunity International provides access to savings, small business loans, insurance and training to over five million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Clients in over 20 countries use these financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net for the future. For more information, visit http://www.opportunity.org or join the conversation at http://facebook.com/opportunityintl and http://twitter.com/opportunityintl.

About Shamrock Holdings, Inc.

Founded in 1978, Shamrock has successfully invested approximately $2 billion in private equity and venture capital transactions over the past two decades across a broad range of businesses both in the United States and internationally. Shamrock Capital Advisors, as the advisor to the Roy E. Disney family and numerous other institutional investors, has a long tradition of service and responsibility to its investors and portfolio companies. Equally important, over the last 27 years, Shamrock has supported many initiatives to help those in need.

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