Microfinance

As one of the largest microfinance organizations in the world, Opportunity International is dedicated to the needs and well being of the poorest of the working poor. We provide small microfinance loans -- sometimes as little as $50 -- as well as banking, insurance and other financial services that allow poor entrepreneurs to start or expand a business, develop a steady income, provide nutritious meals and education for their children and create jobs for their neighbours. We have just met our 2007 goal of providing 1 million people with microfinance services and are committed to help 100 million poor people work their way out of poverty by 2015.


Microloans

Trust Group Loans - Opportunity International developed the concept of providing loans to the poor in peer-support groups called Trust Groups. It is in Trust Groups that the host of issues facing the poor (only one of which is economic) can be addressed. Trust Groups create community leaders while deliberately fostering self-confidence, hope, and individual empowerment.

In a Trust Group, 15 to 40 entrepreneurs from one community apply for a group loan. They agree to co-guarantee each other’s loans instead of having to put up collateral. Upon receiving their loan (from $35 to $500 each), they meet weekly to repay a portion of their loan and to take part in training sessions ranging from effective business practices to family relations, community activism, good health practices and leadership development. As they learn new skills and share their problems, Trust Group members learn to support and encourage one another. The Trust Group becomes the forum for holistic transformation in the life of clients.

Solidarity Group Loans - Solidarity Group loans are for those with a little more experience and collateral. In Solidarity Groups, three to five entrepreneurs co-guarantee each others' loans.

Individual Loans - Individual loans are for the most experienced microentrepreneur, allowing an individual to expand their operations and provide employment to others in their community. Individual loan clients may have started out as Trust Group clients, or they may have the ability and assets to enter Opportunity programs at this level.


Microinsurance

Microinsurance policies can cover a range of risks, such as death, disability, loss of health, loss of livestock, fire, flood and drought. Microinsurance can effectively cover many of the biggest risks that many poor people face; but cannot make a major dent in poverty reduction on its own. However, as part of an integrated approach involving other forms of microfinance and enterprise development services, microinsurance will increasingly be a powerful tool in the fight against poverty. Through the MicroInsurance Agency (www.microinsuranceagency.com), Opportunity has insured over 3 million lives!


Microsavings

Microsavings are deposit services that allow the poor to securely store small amounts of money for future use. Often without a minimum balance requirement, savings accounts enable families to save for unexpected expenses and plan for future investments.The poor need savings that are both safe and liquid. With savings available to them, the poor have some sort of 'insurance' against crises, they have a source of income when their seasonal business is in the off-season, and they have some funds to facilitate future investment and consumption. In fact, the poor have the same needs and are attracted to the same financial services as we are. They have the desire to save, but they lack the means and the opportunity. Today, many of Opportunity's clients are experiencing the benefits of saving for the first time. In the developed world, these are services we take for granted, but for the people who previously hid their savings under their mattress, this is the promise of a safe place to keep their treasured money, and the assurance of easy access to those funds when they are needed most. Opportunity International has provided voluntary savings accounts for more than 250,000 clients.