How well we work with our local partners is critical to Opportunity International Australia’s ability to achieve better outcomes and more opportunities for women and families living in poverty. So, our partners’ experience of working with Opportunity matters.

What do our local partners have to say about working with Opportunity?

Local partners have a very high satisfaction rating 

A recent survey of 147 of Opportunity’s partners globally found our partners have a very high satisfaction rate of 85% in their engagement with Opportunity. 

The Opportunity network engaged PIRON Global Development at the end of last year to survey our local partners globally across all program areas including Microfinance, Health and Education – and report on how effective our partnership engagement is, how our partners relate to each other, and areas where we might improve how we support our partners. The vast majority of partners – over 80% – also consider Opportunity to be a key success factor for their organisation.

What our partners value about working with us

Partners shared that they particularly value Opportunity’s expertise, in technical assistance and capacity-building, our inspiring vision, client-centred approach and our organisational culture which is relationship-focused and shows high respect for partners. 

Opportunity builds strong, trusting relationships

The survey showed that partners value the strong, trusting relationships they have built with Opportunity. Partners feel a strong sense of belonging to the Opportunity network.

In general, partners reported feeling closer to Opportunity than they do to other international organisations that they work with. They feel they have more power and control, that they can be honest and can bring ideas to the table, and that together we can find solutions to problems. This is encouraging, and a testament to the strength of the relationships formed over many years, built on a foundation of mutual trust.

Partners used words like family, love, friendship, passion, and home to describe the connection they feel with Opportunity.

Our localisation approach

Our local partners also reported that they value feeling part of something bigger, that we are working together in a shared endeavour. Opportunity takes a localisation approach in our work – this means we partner with mission aligned local organisations to alleviate poverty for millions of families.

Opportunity’s community-based projects are 100 per cent delivered through local partners. Local partners identify the needs in their communities and design and implement projects, with financial and technical support from Opportunity. Opportunity provides partners with technical assistance on program design, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building. Our partners experience of this locally driven model is critical, and we will continue listening to our partners to improve how we work and build even greater impact together.

What it means for women in poverty

Our ability to partner effectively means better outcomes for women in poverty. Women like Hansa, who took out a small loan through Opportunity’s local partner to start up her snack stall.

Hansa set up her business making samosas, farsan (traditional fried snacks) and sandwiches at her home. She used her loan to buy the ingredients and started to cook. Her delicious snacks were an instant hit. “We are now able to give our family a better life,” Hansa said.

Through her hard work, the family’s income has nearly tripled, and Hansa is able to provide her three children, Dharmik (15), Ravi (14), and Priti (13) with a better education. “We are able to generate income and fulfil basic necessities of our family. Also, we are able to save some money for future,” said Hansa.

Through microfinance, health and other initiatives that support women in a holistic way on their pathway out of poverty, Opportunity is helping millions to leave poverty behind. And we couldn’t do it without the close collaboration of our local partners.

Learn more about how Opportunity’s local partners are key to supporting the communities we serve.