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Lloyds Executive Director backs our Appeal

Posted on 25th November 2011 by Mark Kingston

Lloyds Executive Director Truett Tate has publicly backed our Christmas Appeal in an interview on p9 of today’s edition of City A.M.

Speaking of Opportunity, he said, “This is not a charity that gives away money. It enables people to realise their entrepreneurship and when you see how much you can achieve with so little it is a humbling experience.” You can read the full interview with Truett Tate here.

There are several ways to get involved in our Christmas Appeal:

  1. GIVE: You can give online, by phone or by text message too – find out more here.
  2. BID: Why not bid for a lot in our Appeal Auction? All successful bids will be matched by the UK Government, pound for pound.
  3. READ: You can read all of City A.M.’s appeal-related stories on their Appeal page.
in: Press, UK News
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Opportunity Christmas Appeal Launched

Posted on 21st November 2011 by Mark Kingston

This year, we’re delighted to partner with London-based financial newspaper City A.M. for our Christmas Appeal.

Our appeal is raising funds to help Opportunity extend microfinance to more poor people in southern Malawi. The Nsanje region is one of the poorest areas of Malawi, with 87% of the population without access to basic banking services.

We’re also delighted to announce that the UK Government will match all individual donations pound for pound, so that Opportunity International can double its impact.

There are several ways to get involved:

  1. GIVE: You can give online, by phone or by text message too – find out more here.
  2. BID: Why not bid for a lot in our Appeal Auction? All successful bids will be matched by the UK Government, pound for pound.
  3. READ: You can read all of City A.M.’s appeal-related stories on their Appeal page.


Matching your donations with: Proudly sponsored by:
in: Malawi, UK News
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HRH visits Opportunity in Ghana

Posted on 2nd November 2011 by Mark Kingston

HRH The Princess Royal visited Opportunity clients and staff in Accra last Thursday whilst on a state visit to Ghana.

Princess Anne meeting Opportunity staff in Accra

Princess Anne met clients involved in financial education training and was shown around one of our mobile banks.

Princess Anne visiting an Opportunity mobile bank in Accra, Ghana

in: Ghana
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Powering Connections – SEEP 2011

Posted on 2nd November 2011 by Mark Kingston

This week, Opportunity International joins USAID, Credit Suisse, IFC World Bank Group, Blue Orchard, Grameen Foundation and other industry leaders in sponsoring the 2011 SEEP “Powering Connections” conference.

Every year, SEEP brings together microfinance practitioners from a variety of disciplines to build capacity through the sharing of industry best practices. This conference is one of the cornerstones of development — for four days thought-leaders will discuss innovative ways to use microfinance and microenterprise solutions to alleviate poverty in the developing world.

Find out more about Opportunity’s involvement in Seep 2011 here. You can visit the Seep 2011 website here.

in: Press
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Opportunity Update

Posted on 19th October 2011 by Mark Kingston

The November 2011 issue of our Opportunity Update magazine is now available for download:

Opportunity Update, November 2011 issue

in: Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, UK News
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Microinsurance seminar – 4th November 2011

Posted on 7th October 2011 by Mark Kingston

Microinsurance: Protecting the Poor in Emerging Markets
Date: 4th November 2011
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Wren Suite, St Paul’s Cathedral

This event is provided free of charge, but registration is essential. Please RSVP to Robert Gordon on 020 7489 1011 or via email at institute@stpaulscathedral.org.uk.

St Paul’s Institute would like to invite you to a seminar on microinsurance, hosted in conjunction with the Anglican Health Network, that will be taking place in the Wren Suite at St Paul’s Cathedral on the evening of Friday 4th November.

The Anglican Church has been engaged with the leading microinsurance agency, MicroEnsure, to develop a groundbreaking model of health microinsurance in Tanzania and India. This has placed the church at the forefront of market development on the basis of its commitment to improve the availability and quality of health services amongst the communities it serves.

This seminar will give an account of the place of microinsurance within the wider context of insurance in developing markets, exploring how microinsurance models are being implemented, and will highlight a number of case studies of successful programmes run in different countries.

The evening will be chaired by Revd Raymond Singh, Vice Chair of the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility.


Read full story

in: Microinsurance, UK News
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The Boris Bike Challenge

Posted on 5th October 2011 by Mark Kingston

Update: Boris Bike challenge covered in the Evening Standard

London banker Lindsay Williams has gone the extra mile for Opportunity. He completed a sponsored cycle ride with a difference. His challenge: to see how far he could ride in 24 hours on one of London’s famous ‘Boris Bikes’.

Lindsay (left) with support team

Lindsay began by riding the London marathon course and the London 2012 Olympic marathon course. He finished his challenge by completing the gruelling 149 mile course of the London 2012 Olympic mens cycling road race course. This included 9 ascents of Box Hill in Surrey and a total of more than 2,500m climbing.

All in all, Lindsay rode 205 miles in 22 hours. We think this is now the longest single ride on one of these bikes within a 24 hour period.

Funds raised will help Opportunity reach more of Malawi’s poorest people in the southern Mulanje Region. You can sponsor Lindsay through his Virgin Money Giving page, or support Opportunity directly – click here for more.

Well done Lindsay!

in: People, UK News
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Lloyds staff in Opportunity fundraiser

Posted on 15th September 2011 by Mark Kingston

Lloyds Banking Group Wholesale division staff have been raising funds for Opportunity since 2007. Each year, Lloyds host a day long challenge event where staff teams compete against each other in a series of physical and mental challenges.

Teams raise sponsorship from friends, colleagues, business partners and family members, with all proceeds going to Opportunity’s work in Malawi. This year’s event was themed around the Olympics. Teams were spurred on by Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards and Paralympian bronze medallist Ade Adepitan.

Olympic Gold Medallist Jonathan Edwards with Opportunity CEO Edward Fox

This year’s event took place yesterday. Over 500 people took part raising around £100,000 for Opportunity. On behalf of Opportunity clients and staff in Malawi, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who took part.

Edward Fox with Truett Tate, Lloyds Bank Wholesale Group Executive Director

Find out more about involving your company in raising funds for Opportunity here.

You can read more about our relationship with Lloyds in these previous posts.

in: Malawi, UK News
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Opportunity News Update

Posted on 12th September 2011 by Mark Kingston

If you’d like to read a PDF version of our latest newsletter, click here:

in: Mozambique, UK News
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Opportunity interviewed on Radio 2

Posted on 23rd August 2011 by Mark Kingston

Opportunity trustee Nick Lea and staff member Lydia Baffour Awuah were interviewed by BBC Radio 2′s Jeremy Vine today. Lydia talked of her powerful story growing-up in Ghana and the hand-up a microloan gave her family.

Jeremy Vine Interviews Opportunity


Why not support Opportunity’s ongoing work by donating online?

in: UK News