Press Room
- Micro Ensure eyes higher premiums with Malayan, Grepalife alliance
- Farm aid from space
- Melinda Gates in Davos: Lessons from Africa
- Planting seeds to outgrow poverty
- Opportunity Bank of Malawi Featured by Millenium Villages
- IFC Helps Russian Microfinance Institution FORUS Bank
- Congressional Delegation Visits Opportunity International Microfinance Bank in Kigali, Rwanda
- The Global Food Crisis
- Indian farmers to insure themselves against climate change crop failure
- Rwanda: UOB’s Loan Portfolio Grows to $5.2 Million
- Putting Ghana’s Informal Sector in Business
- Background and Fact Sheet: March 2009
- Omidyar Network Grants $4.5 Million to Opportunity International
- Opportunity Joins Campaign for Client Protection
- The Micro Insurance Agency becomes MicroEnsure
- Opportunity International’s Micro Insurance Agency to Develop Life, Health and Crop Insurance
- Microschools get top marks
- John Deere Foundation and Opportunity International Join to Fight Hunger
- Gates Foundation gives $2.2M for banks in Africa
- Farmers benefit from electronic money transfer
- 500,000 milestone achieved in the Philippines
- New bank branch opens in Malawi
Network Press Room
Micro Ensure eyes higher premiums with Malayan, Grepalife alliance
Philippines Star, May 18th, 2010
Insurance intermediary Micro Ensure Philippines has set its sight on P180 million worth of life and non-life insurance premiums this year, after producing P140 million in premiums last year. Micro Ensure Philippines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Opportunity International, a non-profit global organization that provides small business loans, savings, insurance, and training to people living in poverty in the developing world.
Farm aid from space
Christian Science Monitor, March 2nd, 2010
Satellite data of climate activity enable remote herders to obtain drought insurance.
Melinda Gates in Davos: Lessons from Africa
Financial Times, January 28th, 2010
I visited some sites run by Opportunity International Bank of Malawi. OIBM is building inexpensive branches - I visited one that was made out of three shipping containers–and setting up kiosks in shopping centres and post offices. They also operate seven trucks, some equipped with ATMs, that can bring affordable banking services to even the most remote locations. I talked to several OIBM clients who told me that before the trucks started coming to their town, they had to take long, expensive trips into the city to do their banking-or simply hide their savings under the mattress. But now the bank comes to them.
Planting seeds to outgrow poverty
Winnipeg Free Press , November 28th, 2009
Opportunity International finds microloans blossom into economic independence
Opportunity Bank of Malawi Featured by Millenium Villages
Millenium Villages, November 24th, 2009
Opportunity Bank of Malawi is featured in a video by the Millenium Villages. The video shows the importance of having access to financial services. Keeping money in the house means you will lose it, says one account holder. But put it in a bank and you can plan.
IFC Helps Russian Microfinance Institution FORUS Bank
Microfinance Focus, October 24th, 2009
World Bank investment arm IFC is helping FORUS Bank, a regional microfinance institution in Russia, hedge currency and interest rate risks to make its microfinance operations more sustainable, said a press release.
Congressional Delegation Visits Opportunity International Microfinance Bank in Kigali, Rwanda
September 3rd, 2009
A delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives visited Opportunity International’s bank in Kigali, Rwanda earlier this week to learn more about the need to expand microfinance banking services in sub-Saharan Africa, where fewer than 20% of households have a secure way to safeguard their earnings.
Indian farmers to insure themselves against climate change crop failure
The Guardian, June 8th, 2009
UN negotiators at Bonn consider micro-insurance schemes among adaptation measures for Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Rwanda: UOB’s Loan Portfolio Grows to $5.2 Million
The New Times, May 27th, 2009
URWEGO Opportunity Bank (UOB) registered a 73 percent increase in its loan portfolio.
Putting Ghana’s Informal Sector in Business
Ghana Business News, April 28th, 2009
How Ghana’s non-bank financial sector is engaging the country’s informal economy and how it is faring in the business of providing microfinance and credit.
Omidyar Network Grants $4.5 Million to Opportunity International
February 24th, 2009
‘Electronic Wallet’ Strategy Aims to Help Alleviate Poverty in Eight Countries
Opportunity Joins Campaign for Client Protection
September 24th, 2008
Pledge includes six promises to uphold customer rights.
The Micro Insurance Agency becomes MicroEnsure
Micro Insurance Matters, December 15th, 2008
A new name and tagline to reflect our positioning and mission to the poor
Opportunity International’s Micro Insurance Agency to Develop Life, Health and Crop Insurance
February 6th, 2008
$24.2 million in new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help agency expand services in 11 new countries.
John Deere Foundation and Opportunity International Join to Fight Hunger
December 2nd, 2008
Opportunity International receives a $1.2 million grant from the John Deere Foundation to provide increased access to financing for the hunger-afflicted in Africa.
Gates Foundation gives $2.2M for banks in Africa
Puget Sound Business Journal, December 1st, 2005
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded Opportunity International with a $2.2-million grant to develop a chain of new commercial banks for the poor in Africa
Farmers benefit from electronic money transfer
The Malawi Nation, February 2nd, 2006
In a country where most transactions are cash-based, farmers have wasted a lot of time in bank lines and have been at the mercy of thieves. Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) is bringing change to that financial equation.
500,000 milestone achieved in the Philippines
Opportunity International, March 20th, 2006
Opportunity reached a major milestone in the Philippines, achieving its 2005 target of financing more than 500,000 microbusinesses, operated primarily by very poor women.
New bank branch opens in Malawi
The Malawi Nation, July 26th, 2006
Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) opened its first satellite branch in the southern portion of the country, to the enthusiasm of local residents.
