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Sydney South NSW 1235, Level 11, 227 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 1800 812 164

© 2026 Opportunity International AustraliaABN 83 003 805 043

News & Stories Blog

World news on the fight to alleviate poverty – follow innovations in microfinance, technology and community development that are changing lives in developing countries.

Study from 60 Decibels shows strong outcomes for families

by Opportunity International Australia

Last year, we participated again in the 60 Decibels 2025 Microfinance (MFI) Index, one of the world’s largest independent studies capturing the voices of microfinance clients. The 2025 MFI Index draws on interviews with more than 24,450 clients across 39 countries, providing a globally comparable benchmark of how microfinance institutions are serving low-income families. What the study means for families we support Every year, 60 Decibels conducts an in-depth survey with clients from Opportunity…

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Celebrating 50 years of Opportunity in 2026

by Opportunity International Australia

Opportunity International Australia marks a remarkable milestone in 2026, celebrating 50 years of empowering individuals and transforming communities. In 1976, self-made entrepreneur David Bussau was living in a small village called Blimbingsari in the west of Bali, Indonesia. He was rebuilding a church after the original building was destroyed in an earthquake. Whilst living in Blimbingsari, David met Ketut and his wife Putu, who were struggling financially after their latest rice crop had failed.…

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Advancing safe and inclusive finance through partnership

by Opportunity International Australia

In 2025, Opportunity International Australia worked on deepening the integration of Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and Safeguarding across our Financial Service Provider (FSP) partnerships — strengthening inclusive finance, ensuring people’s safety and dignity remain central, and de‑risking impact investment and inclusive finance programming to drive scalable, safe financial inclusion. GEDSI (Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion) highlights Illustration of a focus…

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Rohanah takes charge of her own future

by Opportunity International Australia

Despite losing a leg at a young age and facing discouragement from those around her, Rohanah has built a successful small business. More than 10 years ago, she took a small loan from Opportunity International Australia’s local women cooperative partner Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA) in Indonesia to set up her food stall. Rohanah lives in a village near Bogor in West Java and has two children. Every morning, Rohanah rises at 2:00am to prepare nasi uduk, a traditional coconut rice dish, along with…

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Seeds of change from the ground up

by Opportunity International Australia

In a remote village in Timor, Indonesia, Yuliana’s story is not uncommon for many families living in extreme poverty. Her home, constructed from wood and palm fronds, sits on a dirt floor. With no stove inside, cooking is done over an open fire outside. The windows are covered with cloth to shield her family from the heat, and meals often consist of little more than rice and corn. For years, Yuliana worked as a labourer in rice fields, earning less than AU$18 a week. With limited education and…

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Mobile Medical Clinics provide life-saving support in rural Bangladesh

by Opportunity International Australia

In June, Shakti Foundation, in partnership with Opportunity International Australia, completed the first year of a Mobile Medical Clinics initiative across 11 districts in Bangladesh. In just one year, 11 mobile clinics delivered inclusive, affordable primary healthcare to over 58,000 people – three-quarters of whom were women – in some of the most remote and underserved locations in the country. Female health leaders and services Female Health Leaders, or medical assistants, offer low-cost consultations,…

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It takes a village to end poverty

by Opportunity International Australia

In rural Indonesia, many communities living in poverty lack the resources, opportunities and support to provide for their families. Opportunity International Australia’s model of small loans to help women start a business is even out of reach for these communities. However, Opportunity’s local partner, TLM Foundation, has found a solution to help those communities - the Resilient Villages program. The Resilient Villages program identifies villages in remote Indonesia and sees the potential in…

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Social Impact Award for Opportunity’s partner Cashpor

by Opportunity International Australia

The 2025 Microfinance Index results were recently published, and once again, show that Opportunity International Australia’s work with local partners is changing the lives of people living in poverty. The study, conducted by independent organisation 60 Decibels, surveyed over 24,000 microfinance clients from 85 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 39 countries. Of those surveyed, 1,300 people were clients of five of Opportunity’s MFI partners in India and Indonesia. Opportunity’s partners performed…

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Global poverty lines revised

by Opportunity International Australia

In June 2025, the World Bank updated the global poverty lines and revised its estimates for the amount of people living in poverty at country, regional and global levels. The update takes account of the latest household data across lower- and middle-income countries and reflects the increasing costs of basic goods and services for people in those countries. The poverty line is the minimum amount of money a person needs each day to meet their basic needs, and is the global benchmark to measure poverty.…

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Hena champions adolescent girls’ health

by Opportunity International Australia

In a small village in Rangpur District, Bangladesh, Health Leader Hena is making a profound impact on the lives of adolescent girls through health education. Hena trained as a Health Leader as part of BURO Bangladesh’s Health Leader program, with the support of Opportunity International Australia. Hena leads health education for 203 families in her area, and she quickly discovered that adolescent girls in her community had very low levels of knowledge about vaccines and menstrual health. Hena found…

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