Opportunity International

Opportunity International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to more than five million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. It serves clients in more than 20 countries and works with fundraising partners in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. Opportunity International has 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt charitable organisation in the United States of America under the US Internal Revenue Code (Employer Identification Number: 54-0907624).[1]

Opportunity represents itself as a non-denominational Christian organization that serves all its clients regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity or gender. Opportunity was founded in 1971 by Al Whittaker, former president of Bristol Myers International Corporation in America. Opportunity was one of the first nonprofit organizations to recognize the benefits of providing small business loans as capital to those working their way out of poverty, initially distributing these loans via the Trust Group model.[2]

History

In 1971, Al Whittaker left his job as president of Bristol Myers to found the Institute for International Development Incorporated (IIDI), a micro-enterprise organization. Barry Harper was IIDI’s first Executive Director and, along with development officer Dan Swanson, oversaw establishment of offices in Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Kenya, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia.

Australian philanthropist David Bussau founded Maranatha Trust and first used it to give loans in Indonesia in 1977. He came on staff with IIDI as the director of the Indonesia office in 1979 and began expanding its work in Asia. In 1988, IIDI changed its name to Opportunity International. Since that time, it has continued to grow.

Amid the weak economies and vast income gaps of the developing world, helping the poor find employment was nearly impossible. But the genius of microenterprise development was not in finding work, but in helping poor entrepreneurs create or expand their own businesses.

In 1992, Opportunity International began to focus on serving entrepreneurs at even lower levels of poverty. The Philippines program began to test the Trust Group lending method, and the Women’s Opportunity Network was formed and started to test and refine the Trust Group loan program across countries and cultures. Through small loans and business training, one person after another could begin to reverse the downward spiral of poverty and become providers for their families and leaders in their communities.

Convinced that no one group can tackle the issues of poverty alone, Opportunity began developing partners in various regions around the world-independent, self-governing organizations with a similar motivation. Linked together in 1998 as the Opportunity International Network-they now number 42 organizations in more than 20 developing countries with support partners in five countries (Australia, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany). While Opportunity operates within a non-denominational Christian philosophy, its founder's memorial service was held in a church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, originally established as an evangelical Protestant foreign missionary organisation.,.[3][4] It seems probable that Whittaker's personal religious beliefs inspired his organisation's focus on international development and social justice within a Christian framework.[5]

In 2000, Opportunity launched into what would become another distinction of its heritage. With more than 200,000 clients worldwide, Opportunity began establishing formal financial institutions (FFI) to broaden the financial services it can provide. FFIs take the form of commercial banks, development banks or credit unions and can accept deposits, borrow money and accept investments.

In 2002, Opportunity International began offering microinsurance through its subsidiary MicroEnsure. As the world’s first microinsurance intermediary, MicroEnsure provides protection against the many risks faced by those living in poverty. Innovative products cover policyholders with crop, health and life insurance–offering clients a safety net when an unexpected hardship or disaster occurs. With average premiums of about $1.50 per month for a family of five, MicroEnsure is making affordable life insurance available for the first time, exclusively to people living in poverty. Other innovations include policies covering persons infected with HIV/AIDS, weather-indexed crop insurance for rural farmers and affordable health insurance for the economically marginalized. MicroEnsure currently offers insurance in five countries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a generous grant to enable the agency to enter new countries and provide insurance to many more people.

On 24 January 2006, David Bussau gave the 10th Australia Day Address with the subject “A Giving Nation.”

In January 2008, David Bussau was named Senior Australian of the Year 2008. The esteemed awards recognize Australians excellence-citizens who have made a substantial contribution to the country and are considered inspirational role models for the Australian community. David was recognized for the significant role he has played in the global fight against poverty through his contribution to the world of microfinance.[6]

Annual report

Annual Report 2013 By the Numbers
Active Loan Clients 2.8 million
Average First Loan $182
Total Value of Client Savings Accounts $173 million
Average Savings Account Balance $119
Loans to Women 91%
Loan Repayment Rate 98%
Total Staff Worldwide 17,500
Loan Officers 9,700 (99% of which are nationals)

[7]

Trust Groups

In 1991, a group of Opportunity supporters formed the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON) and created an innovative group-lending methodology called the Trust Group. A typical first point of entry, the Trust Group joins together 10 to 30 entrepreneurs who elect leaders and pledge to guarantee each other’s loans. Because the group guarantee replaces the need for collateral, credit becomes available to those previously excluded from formal financial services. Each week, as Trust Groups gather to repay their loans, Opportunity provides educational sessions to develop business skills and enhance personal growth. In 2009, almost 1.2 million clients received transformative training on a wide range of topics.[8]

Local staffing

Today, Opportunity recruits and develops staff from the countries it serves. Its global team has grown to 17,500 employees, with 9,700 loan officers working directly with microfinance clients.[9]

Technology

Over the last 10 years, Opportunity has invested more than $20 million in electronic and mobile technology to reduce transaction costs and bring services to the most marginalized and remote people. Satellite branches and mobile banks reach clients in previously unserved areas, like rural farming villages and sprawling urban markets. Biometric technology provides convenient and secure access to finances, even for those who are illiterate or lack formal identification. Convenient ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) devices offer the only safe method for transactions in many markets. Cell phone technology gives clients in remote locations access to their accounts. Grants from Omidyar Network and Credit Suisse help support Opportunity’s “electronic wallet” strategy.

Opportunity International Network

Opportunity International was the first organization to approach microfinance using a microfinance network. The global Opportunity International Network includes the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

United States

Opportunity International has been a pioneer in the microfinance sector for more than 40 years. In 2012 Vicki Escarra joined Opportunity International as CEO.[10]

Australia

Opportunity International Australia Limited is a part of the global Opportunity International Network.[11] Opportunity International Australia Limited was registered as a charity under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission in January 1989.[12]

Opportunity International Australia also provides support services to its loan recipients such as business training, financial literacy training and community development initiatives.[13] It currently works in India, Indonesia and the Philippines by funding and supporting local microfinance institutions.[14] These services include loans, savings, fund transfers and insurance. Opportunity International Australia has a repayment rate of 97%.[15] Opportunity International is a signatory to ACFID.[16]

In 2008, Opportunity International Australia's founder David Bussau was recognised for his long-standing contribution to poverty alleviation by being named Senior Australian of the Year 2008.[17]

Fundraising initiatives

Macro For Micro was a campaign in 2010 to raise funds and awareness for microfinance development.[18] It consisted of a team of Canadian cyclists (Geoff Dittrich, Stu McCrory, Vivian Leung and Isabella Borowiec) that travelled over 5,600 km from Sydney, Australia to Perth, Australia along the southern coast.[19] The campaign aimed to raise A$50,000 for Opportunity Australia to fight poverty. The team stopped at universities, high schools and sponsored venues along the way to share the story of microfinance. They departed Sydney on March 8 (International Women's Day), 2010 and arrived in Perth on 29 May 2010.[20]

Canada

Opportunity International Canada is also part of the global Opportunity International Network.[21] One of the more recent members in the Network, Opportunity International Canada began in 1998, when a dedicated group of entrepreneurial Canadian business people rallied to launch it as a registered charity in Canada. Bob Lawless is the current CEO.[22]

Opportunity International Canada raises funds and awareness for microfinance services provided by their affiliate organizations in the developing world, with a particular focus on Colombia, Ghana, Mozambique, Malawi and Rwanda.[23] There are plans for future expansions as Opportunity International Canada continues to grow.

In addition to a National Office in Toronto, Opportunity International Canada has staff members in Vancouver, Montréal and London,[24] as well as a significant volunteer base in Alberta.[25]

Starting in 2009, Opportunity International Canada staff and volunteers created programs and initiatives like Faces of Opportunity,[26] MarketDay,[27] Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, and OI Connect to raise funds and awareness across Canada. Faces of Opportunity is a small coffee table book of microfinance client stories. MarketDay is a program in schools, churches, and clubs which aims to involve and educate young people with the microfinance and entrepreneurship. The Young Ambassadors for Opportunity, or YAO,[28] is an organized group of young professionals ages 18–35 who aim to raise awareness and funds for microfinance projects around the world. In 2010, Opportunity International Canada introduced OIConnect.[29] OIConnect is a grassroots social media platform for supporters to create their own fundraising projects.[30]

Germany

Opportunity International Germany was founded in 1996 by Karl Schock, a businessman, as an independent foundation.[31] The organization provides people who are living in poverty with means of microfinance (microcredit, micro insurance, savings accounts) and at the same time trains them in management and health care. Opportunity International Deutschland raises funds and awareness for microfinance services in Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique, Dominican Republic, India, Nicaragua and the Philippines.[32] The current CEO is Mark Ankerstein.

Opportunity International Deutschland logo

United Kingdom

Opportunity International UK is part of the global Opportunity International Network. Opportunity UK is currently serving more than 1.2 million African's by raising funds to help develop microfinance in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Ghana. They also support projects in Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and South Africa.

Operating partners

Opportunity International serves more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. In 2012, its funding priorities were: Colombia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Opportunity International in Uganda

Challenge in Uganda

One of the development challenges in Uganda, Africa is that at least 40 percent of the population - women - dwell in poverty. While women make up 53 percent of the labour force, they only are reported to sell only 11 percent of the cash crops due to the lack of access to markets and credit.[33] Opportunity International, an international NGO which is present in many countries, strives to solve this problem by offering microfinancing services to the Ugandan women in need.

Uganda

The program in Uganda is carried out through the help of the Women’s Opportunity Network (WON).[34] WON is a network which is committed in providing financial services and training to women around the world in hopes of helping them escape poverty. With microfinancing, the women can receive education, monetary support for those in farming families, as well as receive training to become women leaders.

Efficacy of Microfinancing

There is no evidence presented in Opportunity International (OI) publications of summary-level improvements in household income or jobs created by OI's borrowers. This is not surprising, since scientific testing of the impact of microcredit is surprisingly difficult. Dozens of studies have looked at the experience of people who received microloans. The challenge has been to identify a control group for comparison: it is difficult and expensive to find a group of people who are like the loan recipients in all relevant ways except for not having gotten a loan. Two studies looked at standard microcredit clients over a short period (12–18 months) using randomized controlled trials found no evidence of improvements in household income or consumption. For now, it seems an honest summary of the evidence to say that we simply do not know yet whether microcredit or other forms of microfinance are helping to lift millions out of poverty.[35]

Further, one of the least remarked-on problems facing the world's poor living on two dollars a day is that they do not literally get that amount each day. In other words, economic poverty is not just a matter of low incomes, but also of irregular and uncertain incomes. To put food on the table every day and meet other basic consumption needs, poor households have to save and borrow constantly.[36] One research team presented results of year-long financial diaries collected about twice a month from hundreds of rural and urban households in India, Bangladesh, and South Africa. They consistently found the poor use credit and savings to smooth consumption, to deal with emergencies like health problems and to accumulate the larger sums they need to seize opportunities—occasionally business opportunities—and pay for big-ticket expenses like education, weddings and funerals.[37] Over the year, the average diary household used 8 to 10 different types of financial instruments; most types were used multiple times. The notion that microcredit brings loans to people who previously had no access to them is widespread but mistaken, as is the notion that the strong majority of microloans are used for business purposes.[38]

Finally, it seems unlikely that a year of microlending helps poor people as much as a year of girls' primary education, for example. The true advantage of microfinance is not that each "dose" is more powerful, but rather that each dose costs much less than subsidies. Social programs like primary education and health care usually require large continuing subsidies, using up scarce tax dollars year after year. Microfinancing is different: when it is done right, relatively small up-front subsidies lead to permanent institutions that can continue providing services year after year with no further subsidy needed, and can expand those services to reach many millions of low-income clients.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Search for Charities". Irs.gov. 2014-04-10. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  2. ↑ "About Us | Opportunity International". Opportunity.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  3. ↑ "Alfred Whittaker Obituary: View Alfred Whittaker's Obituary by Chicago Tribune". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  4. ↑ "The Village Church at Shell Point". Shellpoint.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  5. ↑ "Opportunity International Australia - What do we mean by 'inspired by Christ'?". Opportunity.org.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  6. ↑ Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ http://opportunity.org/annual-report/2013
  8. ↑ "Microfinance Support – Trust Groups | Opportunity International". Opportunity.org. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  9. ↑ Archived September 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ PR News Wire (July 16, 2012) Vicki Escarra Named CEO of Opportunity International
  11. ↑ "Opportunity Australia Who We Are". Opportunity.org.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  12. ↑ "Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission". Acnc.gov.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  13. ↑ Australian Development Gateway
  14. ↑ "Opportunity Australia Where We Work". Opportunity.org.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  15. ↑ "Opportunity Australia FAQ". Opportunity.org.au. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  16. ↑ "ACFID". ACFID. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  17. ↑ Australian of the Year 2008
  18. ↑ "OI Press Release". Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  19. ↑ OI Canada
  20. ↑ "80 Day Ride". Au.ibtimes.com. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  21. ↑ Opportunity Canada in Global Network Archived March 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ Opportunity Canada History Archived February 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ↑ "Opportunity Canada Fact Sheet". Opportunityinternational.ca. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  24. ↑ Opportunity Canada Staff Archived May 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ↑ Opportunity Canada Governors Council Archived April 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ "facesofopportunity.com". facesofopportunity.com. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  27. ↑ Archived April 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ↑ Archived August 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ↑ oiconnect.ca
  30. ↑ OIConnect
  31. ↑ "Wie alles begann | Opportunity International Deutschland". Opportunity International Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  32. ↑ "Wirkungsberichte - Opportunity International Deutschland". Opportunity International Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  33. ↑ Mutume, Gumisai (July 2005), African Women Battle for Equality, Africa Renewal, p. 6, retrieved 10 February 2012
  34. ↑ The Case for Support; Bringing Opportunity to Women (PDF), Opportunity International, retrieved 10 February 2012
  35. ↑ Rosenberg, Richard. (2010) Does Microcredit Really Help Poor People? Consultive Group to Assist the Poor, Focus Note Number 59, 1.
  36. ↑ Collins, D., Morduch, J., Rutherford, S., and Ruthven, O. (2009). Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  37. ↑ Collins, D., Morduch, J., Rutherford, S., and Ruthven, O. (2009). Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  38. ↑ Bourdreaux, K., and Cowen, T. (2008). The Micromagic of Microcredit. Wilson Quarterly, 64.
  39. ↑ Rosenberg, R. (2010). Does Microcredit Really Help Poor People? Consultive Group to Assist the Poor, Focus Note Number 59, 1.

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