Opportunity International

Overview

Opportunity International, the world's largest Christian microfinance organization, is committed to solving global poverty. By providing small business loans, training in basic business practices, counseling in personal development and other financial services to women and men living in chronic poverty, Opportunity sees lives transformed. Loans - sometimes as little as $50 - allow poor entrepreneurs to start or expand a business, develop a steady income, provide for their families and create jobs for their neighbors.

Mission

To provide opportunities for people in chronic poverty to transform their lives.

Program

The Women’s Opportunity Fund: The vision of the Fund was to help those shut out from the larger microcredit market — the poorest of the economically active poor — 70 percent of whom are women.

Lending Hope to Africa: The Campaign is a $25-million initiative to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa through microenterprise development and through HIV/AIDS education, peer support, training, counseling, insurance and youth apprenticeship programs.

Impact

Opportunity's Client Impact Information Management System (CIIMS) uses information gathered from simple, structured interviews to develop a powerful statistical database. The data enables Opportunity to measure long-term benefits of its programs, identify funding opportunities and customize products and services to better meet the needs of clients.

While the proprietary CIIMS software benefits Opportunity clients, it also positions Opportunity as a transparent and accountable organization. Providing real-time client data to donor constituents gives Opportunity the advantage of illustrating donations to true client impact.

Opportunity serves over 866,000 clients and operates in 28 countries.

Countries of Operation

Albania, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, China, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe