Opportunity International was recently awarded a $50 million, 10-year grant to build microfinance banks in sub-Saharan Africa.  The family foundation providing the grant has challenged Opportunity to match its funding with funds from organizations such as USAID, IFAD, IFC, the World Bank, the United Nations and major corporations and foundations who fund microfinance.

In the last 6 years, Opportunity has built 12 commercial microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America -- and plans to build 2 microfinance banks per year over the next ten years. 

Targeted African countries for new banking operations include:

·      Angola

·      Burundi

·      DR Congo

·      Ethiopia

·      Madagascar

·      Nigeria

·      Tanzania

In addition to new banking operations, Opportunity will use this new funding to expand its banking services in:

·      Ghana

·      Rwanda

·      Kenya

·      Uganda

·      Malawi

·      Mozambique

·      Zambia

Each bank will offer a full suite of financial services tailored to the needs of the poor within the country and work to expand services through a multitude of "points of sale," including satellite branches, ATMs, point-of-sale devices placed in markets and farm shops, and cell phones.   Opportunity's entry and expansion strategy will include greenfield startups, transformation of NGO MFIs, and consolidation of non-profit MFIs into the banks Opportunity establishes.

To learn more, please contact Stephanie Montgomery at smontgomery@opportunity.org.