Opportunity International receives $2 million Grant to Remove Obstacles and Open Capital to Women-led Businesses

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Opportunity International, a well-known global pioneer in offering financial services, training, and support to help people escape poverty, has received a $2 million grant from the Visa Foundation to help women-owned small- and microbusinesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda. This funding will help Opportunity International provide micro and small company loans, digital tools, and specialised technical training to these businesses.

The grant will assist in unlocking an additional $14 million in capital through small business loans to women-led businesses by using cutting-edge digital tools that are powered by machine learning and credit scoring algorithms and utilising cutting-edge financial instruments like collateral and interest rate buy-downs.

"Opportunity International and Visa Foundation share the vision of increasing women's participation in the local African economies. Our partnership over the next two years in the DRC, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda will focus on accelerating the growth of women-owned businesses by removing barriers that women face, such as lack of collateral to qualify for finance or lack of digital literacy skills compared to men," said Simona Haiduc, Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships at Opportunity International.

Opportunity International will go on with the advancements made possible by a prior funding from the Visa Foundation and broaden the project into a new market. After the Covid-19 market lockdowns and economic downturns, Opportunity International received a $1 million grant from the Visa Foundation to aid in the recovery and reconstruction of gender-diverse small- and microbusinesses in the DRC, Ghana, and Uganda. Through the provision of additional cash, guarantee funds, and technical support services, Opportunity International was able to assist its local partner financial institutions. By May 2022, Opportunity International had provided over 13,000 women-owned small- and microbusinesses with loans, and for every $1 in grant money from the Visa Foundation, it had deployed $11 in extra capital.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL

Opportunity International is a global non-profit organisation that has been helping people escape poverty for 51 years by providing them with the tools and business solutions they need. Opportunity offers innovative financial resources, training, and support to 18.7 million families so they may expand their small businesses and send their kids to school. Opportunity International and its partners issued $2 billion in capital in 2021, funding 8,400 schools that served 2 million students in 30 different countries. Over $19 billion has been lent by Opportunity International since its establishment in 1971, and 95% of its clientele are women.