Entrepreneurial Inspiration – Opportunity International and microfinancing

When entrepreneurs in developing countries need to start or expand businesses, but either don’t need or can’t afford a large loan, where do they go?  Opportunity International is an organization that helps entrepreneurs in developing countries. They do this by providing small business loans, insurance, training and savings to clients in over 20 countries. Opportunity works with a mix of fundraising organizations, individuals, corporations, foundations and governments all over the world to build funds for these entrepreneurs. With this funding, entrepreneurs in developing countries can provide for their families and strengthen their communities.

The organization was founded in 1971 by Al Whittaker, former president of Bristol Myers International Corporation in America, and Australian entrepreneur David Bussau. It was one of the first nonprofit organizations to see how powerful microfinance loans can be to entrepreneurs in developing countries who can’t afford or don’t need a traditional large loan to get started. Thanks to microfinance, entrepreneurs in developing countries can do things they may not have been otherwise able to do – start a school, a sewing business or a small grocery store, for example.

In addition to providing microloans, Opportunity International offers microinsurance. This provides entrepreneurs with crop, life and health insurance to protect their livelihood against unexpected hazards. They’ve also built 15 regulated microfinance institutions, including seven banks. They have also used technological advances to allow ATMs, point-of-sale devices and mobile banks to operate in remote areas where residents are typically held back by reduced literacy or lack of formal ID.

As of December 31, 2010, Opportunity International had given out 2.8 million active loans (93% to female entrepreneurs), created 1.1 million savings accounts, and trained 2.5 million clients in business skills. The average first loan is in the amount of $178, and the loan repayment rate is 95%. Opportunity believes in developing staff within the countries it serves, and 99% of its employees are nationals of the countries where they work.

Loans from Opportunity can be as low as $60, but according to their website, “each loan impacts the lives of not just each client, but the lives of an average of five family members or employees.”

For more information about microfinance and the benefit it can have to entrepreneurs in developing countries, check out  So what is microfinance, anyway?

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So what is microfinance, anyway?

We’ve all heard the saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s all well and good, but if the man has no fishing pole, those fishing skills aren’t much help. Microfinance can get him that fishing pole. Odds are that this fellow will catch more fish than he can eat. He can sell a few, pay you back for the pole, and become financially self-sufficient. That’s a win-win situation all around.

Microfinance – banking the unbankable

Microfinance, sometimes called microcredit, is providing credit, savings, and general banking services to the millions of people who are unable to qualify for these services from a regular banking institution. Generally, this means a person lacking a certain amount of collateral – assets or money used to “secure” regular financing. Banking the “unbankable” is made possible with community-based approaches to lending because in general, banks are for people with money, not for people without (van Maanen, 2004).

A microcredit loan might range from under a $100 to perhaps a few thousand dollars, depending on the situation. These loans are also beneficial to the creditor- they are a manageable amount for the client, and easier to pay back than a regular, large loan. These microloans tend to have an extremely high success rate when it comes to being paid back, and several organizations providing these loans report a success rate around 97%.

The concept of microfinance began as an alternative way to assist developing countries. The concept is nothing new; the term “microfinance” became a buzzword in the 1970s and has been slowly developing and evolving for decades, but the positive impact of this service isn’t limited to the developing world. There are plenty of “unbankables” right here in Canada – people who have valuable skills, fantastic ideas and the drive to succeed, but who are trapped by their financial situation. We at GoForth Institute believe that to build a nation of successful entrepreneurs, these super-humans need access to three things:

  1. Entrepreneurship education
  2. Mentorship, advice, counselling and support
  3. Access to microfinance and loans

Microfinance can mean the difference between being dependent on aid and being self-sufficient. It can mean the difference between small business failure and entrepreneurial freedom. It can be the differentiating factor – the tipping point – between the world as we know it now, and the world as it could be, if every person’s skills, drive and potential had the opportunity to flourish.

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What is microfinance?

In this month’s GoForth Institute newsletter, we’re answering the question, what is microfinance?

Basically, microfinance (also called microcredit or microlending) is a way of providing credit, savings and general banking services to  millions of entrepreneurs who may be lacking collateral or a good credit rating. Often, a person thinking of starting a small business just needs a bit of money to get started – to buy a computer, farming equipment or other supplies. They don’t need or want a loan for tens of thousands of dollars and, sometimes, they don’t have access to traditional sources of funding. In these cases, microfinance can help them start their small business on the best footing possible.

Read more about microfinance in our June newsletter, including why it’s often referred to as “liberation capital” and what some organizations are doing to support entrepreneurs through microfinance partnerships.

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