Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka (right) meets with Dikembe Mutombo Foundation employees (center) and the local mayor (left) to discuss how Opportunity can partner with them to serve those living in poverty in the DRC.

“A single bracelet does not jingle,” states a Congolese proverb. With that idea in mind, the tone of Opportunity International’s recent trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of cooperation. The microfinance organization realizes that without partnerships it will not be able to fully address the problem of poverty.

Half of the DRC’s 66.5 million people live on $1 per day. With painful poverty comes a host of serious problems for the Congolese people. Financial, health and social service organizations must work in tandem.

For this reason, Opportunity visited the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation (DMF) hospital in the DRC. A tour of the impressive facility and a meal with the staff further revealed that the two organizations have a shared vision. The patients to which the DMF Hospital provides healthcare are the very ones that Opportunity targets in its effort to alleviate poverty through savings, loans and insurance. Both organizations are committed to serve those living on less than $1 per day.

Opportunity International President and CEO, Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka, also set up meetings with local churches such as the Evangelical Covenant Church in the DRC. He notes that “churches play a key role in advocating for the poor. We encouraged church leaders to partner with us as we serve our brothers and sisters in the D.R. Congo.”

Finally, the group met with other microfinance organizations. Rather than finding a competitive climate, Opportunity International discovered a great deal of support and encouragement. The organizations all share one common goal: to serve and empower the poor.

Without partnerships, organizations can only have a limited impact. Indeed, with the power of partnerships Opportunity International can be more than just a single bracelet in a country filled with agonizing poverty.
And the poor can receive a working chance.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

-Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita,” A.T.” Tshibaka (right) talks with entrepreneur Kabuika Valentine about her business and her family. Kadita was born in the DRC and recently returned to the country to advance Opportunity’s plan to bring microfinance services to the Congolese people who are living in poverty.

Having grown up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Opportunity International President and CEO Kadita “A.T.” Tshibaka experienced poverty first hand. Thanks to a hard working family and a timely scholarship, Kadita attended Dartmouth College, where he earned his MBA before starting a career at Citibank. His subsequent success in international banking and his passion for the poor have now led him to Opportunity International – and back to the DRC.

With half of the DRC living on less than $1 per day, the Congolese native is leading the organization’s efforts to bring microloans, savings and insurance services to a country of 66.5 million people.
Recently, Kadita led a small delegation of Opportunity supporters and staff to the DRC to witness firsthand both the challenges and possibilities that exist for his home country.

“As I shook hands with start-up business owners, I was struck by the great potential for microfinance to help expand their businesses,” reflects Kadita. “These entrepreneurs work hard to provide for their families in a country where so many are fortunate when they can eat three or four times a week. They are very focused and determined to succeed. Opportunity International will make a significant difference in their lives, supporting them with adaptable microfinance products and services.”

In the DRC, Kadita listened to the working poor and learned about their need for loans, savings and insurance. He appealed to prominent political, economic, church, and social-sector leaders, who were all excited about the prospect of an Opportunity International presence in the DRC. He met with organizations already in the country to hear about their triumphs and their struggles.

“We bank on the spirit of people and on their hopes and dreams,” Kadita continues. “The people that we met saw this and promised their support. We are both humbled and very encouraged by what we experienced.”

Kadita firmly believes in microfinance as a working solution to poverty. More specifically, he is adamant that banking in the DRC is key to the development of Africa. The DRC has the third largest population and the second largest land area in sub-Saharan Africa. With 99% of the population lacking basic banking services, raising funds for an Opportunity International Bank in the DRC has become one of the organization’s top priorities.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

- Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

Women pack up their businesses at the end of the day at the crowded Grand Marche market in Kinshasa, Congo

The Grand Marche market in Kinshasa brims with tens of thousands of vendors. To the untrained eye, the market is full of chaos and confusion. To those who dare to look past the sea of people, however, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest market is an organized, catalogued, and thriving economic system.

Delegates from Opportunity International on a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo soon discovered that there was more to the story than met the western-trained eye. Visitors are required to gain permission from the Queen of the Market (a title of true honor) to wander around the winding pathways between tightly-packed stalls. The Mayor of the Market lists the vendors present and their businesses as he proudly shows off his domain. The infrastructure is unexpected, and looks different than traditional infrastructure, but it works.

In a market like this it is hard to believe that only 1% of the DRC’s 66.5 million people have bank accounts.

Without access to formal financial services, the vendors in this marketplace are unable to get a loan that will help them to grow their business. They cannot safely save the profits that they make. They do not have the ability to take out insurance to keep them from losing their business if a fire devastated the market. They cannot gain additional structured training.

Opportunity International, a ONE partner organization, has plans to open a formal financial institution (or FFI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ultimately, the organization’s goal is to bring loans, savings, insurance, and training to those who are living on less than $2 per day. With 99% of the population in need of banking services, Opportunity is poised to enter a market with much potential.

In this country roughly the geographical size of Europe, plagued by war, economic instability, and corruption, an Opportunity International formal financial institution can help to make the difference between families being able to afford only three meals per week to families being able to afford three meals per day.

To learn more about Opportunity’s commitment to providing microfinance solutions to the working poor in almost 30 countries, visit www.opportunity.org.

-Sonja Egeland Kelly, Opportunity International

With Mother’s Day coming up, I’ve been thinking more about the heroic mothers I met on a recent trip to Ghana and Uganda. They shared with me how they were using loans from Opportunity International to build businesses that provided income to send their children to school, put nutritious food on the table, buy or improve their homes and even put money away for the future. Many of them care for AIDS orphans, employ their neighbors and take on leadership roles in their communities.

I’d like to introduce you to a special woman I met in Ghana. Rose Adjei is 39 and married with two children. She was Opportunity’s first client in her community, forming a Trust Group of 26 other women living in poverty who wanted to start businesses. (Visit http://www.optinnow.org for more information on this lending methodology.) With her first loan of $25 in 1998, Rose started selling groceries on a tabletop. Today, she is the proud owner of a grocery store and a Kente products shop, and employs seven young men to weave the kente cloth. She is repaying her 14th loan from Opportunity, this one for almost $2,000. With proceeds from her business, Rose has been able to send her children to the best schools in her area.

Rose Ajdei, an Opportunity International client, at Rose’s shop in Bonwire Ghana.

I invite you to visit OptINnow to learn more about Opportunity’s women clients, their businesses and their communities. There, you also can check out the heartwarming Global Opportunity Quilt sponsored by the Women’s Opportunity Network. This Mother’s Day, I’m purchasing tribute patches on the virtual quilt to honor special women in my life and to give a hand-up to women who need it the most. I can choose from several beautiful Mother’s Day patches by artist Dawn Feller, and then write a tribute that can be read by everyone visiting the virtual quilt. Each woman I honor receives an email with a link to view the quilt plus a gift card that can be used to help another woman with a life-changing loan at OptINnow. It’s fun to visit the quilt (I must admit…I do it several times daily) to see all the wonderful messages that have been posted.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in the world who make a difference!

-Ruth-Anne Renaud, Vice President of Women’s Philanthropy, Opportunity International, rarenaud@opportunity.org

Global Opportunity Quilt created by the Women’s Opportunity Network and you at www.optinnow.org/quilt

Last weekend I attended the Opportunity International Governors’ Conference in San Francisco to discuss how small loans (somewhere around $100) are being used to transform communities. Microfinance has been an important arm of the global anti-poverty strategy, and Opportunity International is ONE organization providing financial aid to small businesses throughout Africa. This conference revealed specifics of microfinance, supporting ideas and the importance of ONE.

Early in the conference, I met three passionate women, Ruth Ann, Karen, and Amma (featured in the photo), who kindly took the time to discuss an important book with me. In the words of Opportunity International, the book One Hen is: inspired by the life story of Opportunity International’s Dr. Kwabena Darko, chairman of the Ghana board and member of the Opportunity International Board. One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many. With this tiny loan, Kojo buys a hen. A year later, Kojo has built up a flock of 25 hens. With his earnings Kojo is able to return to school. Soon Kojo’s farm grows to become the largest in the region.” The book is being given as gifts and being read to children in schools and churches. Amma, Karen, and Ruth Ann carefully explained how ONE Hen is helping children grasp the importance of compassion and the benefits of microfinance. The hope is children will see how ONE person can make a difference through opportunity and entrepreneurship. After reading the story, children can then go online, play games, take a quiz, and read success stories to essentially gain a unique perspective of world’s outside their own.

Like many challenges facing the developing world, I learned providing loans was not as easy as I thought and not quite the same as loans we offer here in the United States. The biggest challenge is (more…)

The food crisis is taking its toll on Opportunity’s microfinance clients. Opportunity International is one of the largest and oldest microfinance networks, and I’ve seen first-hand how a small business loan or a safe place to save hard-earned money can make a big difference in keeping food on the table for the poor. Yet in 16 years of working in microfinance, I haven’t seen anything quite like global reach of the current food crisis.

One of Opportunity’s clients in India, Selvi Mani, just told us:

“We have reduced our consumption of vegetables and meat. Last week, we went to the market and brought provisions for ($4.50) This week, the same items cost ($7).”