News & Stories Media
See the latest interviews and media coverage on Opportunity International Australia.
Australian Financial Review
Indonesia’s hopes for sharp economic rebound slip away as cases surge
Knowledge@Wharton
How Fintech Is Transforming Microfinance
Opportunity International, a Chicago-based nonprofit, believes that the path out of extreme poverty for many people around the world lies in entrepreneurship. It provides access to microloans to the very poor as well as financial expertise to help them run their small enterprises. Founded in 1971, the organization operates in 22 countries. Its network comprises 48 organizations, 39 of which are microfinance institutions. It also focuses on what it calls EduFinance — harnessing private-sector finance to improve the quality of education in developing countries.
Sight Magazine
THE INTERVIEW: MEREDITH SCOTT, CEO OF OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA
Meredith Scott is the new chief executive officer of international development organisation Opportunity International Australia. The 53-year-old Sydney-based mother of two, who has previously had a 32 year career with global professional services company EY as well as serving in various roles in the not-for-profit sector, talks about what’s surprised her about the new job, the organisation’s new “tagline”, and how her faith inspires her to help others…
Sydney Morning Herald
Former premiers hope for a more 'positive lens'
They were once rivals across the dispatch box in Macquarie Street's political bear pit but two former premiers, Kristina Keneally and Mike Baird, took to the stage together on Thursday to reflect on life in politics. Both spoke of the need for a more "positive lens" on national life at an event organised by Opportunity International Australia, a charity that provides small loans to poor families in developing countries to help them build business and end poverty.
Inside Small Business
Let's equip entrepreneurs to end poverty
An opinion piece in Inside Small Business by Opportunity CEO Meredith Scott on why we should equip entrepreneurs in developing countries to end poverty.
SBS Small Business Secrets
Let's celebrate World Entrepreneurs' Day
Interview with Opportunity CEO Meredith Scott about World Entrepreneurs' Day
Sight Magazine
On World Entrepreneurs' Day lets equip entrepreneurs in developing countries to end poverty
Inside Small Business
World Entrepreneurs’ Day to celebrate efforts to end poverty in developing countries
Sight Magazine
DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL: THE KEY ROLE WOMEN PLAY IN LIFTING THEIR FAMILIES OUT OF POVERTY IN THE PHILIPPINES
Women's Agenda
How ‘Peacemakers’ in India are helping to end violence against women
My Choices, a domestic violence organisation in India is profiled in this think piece by My Choices Founder, Elca Grobler.
ABC TV
Robert Dunn ABC TV interview on domestic violence in India
Robert Dunn talking about the work of Opportunity's partner in India, My Choices Foundation and their efforts to prevent domestic violence in India.
Vision Christian radio
Robert Dunn interview with Matt Prater on HistoryMakers
Inspiring interview with Robert Dunn, Global Executive Director Opportunity International about some of the amazing women he has met in developing countries who are using small loans to build businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.
The Spice Adventuress
Duck Kurma (Supporting the Great Australian Curry Campaign)
The Spice Adventuress encourages Aussies to cook up a curry, share it with family and friends and raise funds to help families in developing countries build businesses and lie themselves out of poverty.
Rise and Shine, Vision Christian Radio.
Robert Dunn encourages Aussies to cook up a curry - Rise and Shine interview
To honour Anti-Poverty Week, Robert Dunn encourages Aussies to cook up a curry, share it with family and friends and raise funds so that families in developing countries can build a business and lift themselves out of poverty.
The World Loves Melbourne
COOK UP A SPICY CURRY FOR ANTI-POVERTY WEEK!
Are you a curry lover? Do you like to get in the kitchen and cook up a storm? Are you passionate about ending the poverty cycle? Are you a foodie? Then get on board with other Aussies for The Great Australian Curry Fundraising Campaign. It's simple, fun and profound. Opportunity International Australia invites Aussies to cook up a curry this October or November, share it with family and friends and raise funds so families in developing countries can receive small loans to build businesses and break the crippling cycle of poverty.
Pro Bono Australia
Global Poverty: An Amazing Success Story… But We Still Have a Long Way to Go
As Anti-Poverty Week in Australia gets underway, Chris Murdoch from Opportunity International Australia considers the solutions to global poverty and how much work there is still to do.
Generosity Magazine
Global Poverty: An Amazing Success Story
On the eve of Anti-Poverty Week in Australia and the 25th anniversary of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, I’m reflecting on the journey out of poverty so many families have made in the last 20 years. Journeys to freedom. Journeys to lives with choices, dignity and hope.
Sydney Chic
Curry for a cause
Gather around your family and friends, enjoy a delicious curry, and help break the devastating cycle of poverty. That’s the aim of Opportunity International Australia this October or November with the Great Australian Curry.
The Wire
Could microfinance ever take off in Australia?
Many families in third world nations rely on microfinance to make ends meet. The system of small loans, typically given to families living in poverty in developing countries to build businesses, now reaches hundreds of millions around the world.
Sight Magazine
DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL: THE GROWING TREND OF TAILORING SOLUTIONS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE LIVING IN POVERTY
Pro Bono Australia
Putting the Spotlight on Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries
Australians are being encouraged to recognise entrepreneurs in developing countries who are working to “swim against the tide and flourish” on World Entrepreneurs’ Day.
Sight Magazine
Celebrating entrepreneurs in developing countries who "swim against the tide"
World Entrepreneurs Day is a time to celebrate the many remarkable entrepreneurs who live in developing countries and "swim against the tide and flourish", according to Christian microfinance and development organisation Opportunity International Australia.
Broadsheet
Sydney Opera House Presents: Iron Chef All Stars
A charity dinner with four original Iron Chefs from the FujiTV program, plus two Michelin star chef Kentaro Chen and Asia’s Best Pastry Chef Janice Wong.
Urban List
The World’s Most Intense Cooking Show ‘Iron Chef’ Is Coming To Sydney!
The original Iron Chefs are coming to Sydney Opera House to support families living in poverty. Hurry! Buy your tickets now!
Sight Magazine
Sight-Seeing: Of Inspirational Leadership
I met Praseeda when she was pitching a business plan to members of the Opportunity International Australia board in India several years ago. She was seeking funding to kick-start a micro-finance organisation in a remote location in Madhya Pradesh, a location where no other micro-finance organisation was present. It’s a challenging area.
Generosity Magazine
Two Exceptional Leaders Effecting Social Change in India
Praseeda Kuman left India as a university student to study in the US, where she built a successful corporate career. In her 30s she felt compelled to return to India to contribute to the growth of India’s microfinance sector – a sector that gives millions of families the tools they need to free themselves from the crippling cycle of poverty in which they have been trapped for generations.
Women in Business
Two exceptional business leaders
There is daily media debate about the leadership qualities of the US President, Australian Prime Minister and leaders of ASX 100 companies and a plethora of league tables of the Top 10 leaders in various sectors and economies. However, I am privileged to have worked with two remarkable leaders who will probably never make it into a league table but who demonstrate what I believe are exceptional leadership qualities.
Domain
Iron Chef All Stars Dinner 2017 to Feature Famous Chefs and Cuisine from Around the World
The highly anticipated Iron Chef All Stars Dinner is back to offer guests an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime dining experience with famous chefs from all corners of the world.
Domain
Australian brand One Another supporting artisans in the developing world
Photographer and graphic designer Rick Carter is a bit of a wanderer – and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I have always been addicted to travelling and it was during an adventure that I fell in love with photography and the beauty of capturing cultures and their people.” It was during one of his adventures that inspiration struck. “I was in India photographing the work of Opportunity International Australia, who provide small loans to impoverished women,” he says. “It was here in the urban slums and rural villages that my wife Annette and I met these women and discovered their extraordinary traditional artisanal skills.”
Sight Magazine
Hope is universal
"Opportunity provides immense hope to the families it serves. Hope leads to self-respect. When I visited some of Opportunity’s loan recipients in India, I was moved by the huge lift in self-respect experienced by them. We know and almost take for granted, that the small loans help them build businesses and earn regular incomes. But until that point I hadn’t realised that Opportunity was being culturally and socially revolutionary. And that through this, the families Opportunity serves experience an abundance of hope." Peter Cadwallader, Opportunity Council member
Women in Focus
Breaking the cycle of poverty - one small loan at a time
People often ask me: “What is poverty?” Is the face of poverty the 767 million people around the world who live on less than US$1.90 a day? Or is it much more than a low income? Poverty means you have limited access to your basic needs, such as nutritious food, clean water, healthcare and education. You are also more likely to experience hunger and poor sanitation and develop preventable illnesses, diminishing your capacity to work. As this cycle repeats itself, it is clear to see why families living in poverty struggle to survive.
The Weekend Edition
Pay it forward – One Another does good design, designed for good
One Another is an amazing online store working hard to provide unique handmade goods crafted by disadvantaged women in developing countries, acting on the principle that behind every one of its products there is a person and a story. The concept of One Another was born when partners Rick and Annette Carter were travelling through India with not-for-profit group Opportunity International Australia – the pair was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of local women they had met, and they wanted to make a tangible difference to these lives.
Fundraising & Philanthropy Australia
How expressing yourself authentically can help empower women in developing countries
Women In Focus
Empowering Women in Developing Countries to be Businesswomen. Community Leaders. Influential.
Fundraising & Philanthropy Australia
Opportunity Australia receives annual grant from TechnologyOne
Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney woman turns cancelled wedding into a story of 'life-changing positivity' with charity event
Pinoy Radio 98.5FM Sydney
Chris Murdoch speaks about Opportunity International's program in the Phillipines
94.1fm with Jacqui Chaplin
17 October 2016 | Show 154 | The Pacific Crest Trail: A Rite Of Passage - A Conversation With Chris Bailey
Sight Magazine
The Pilgrim's Progress: A 4,300km Trek – And Hundreds of Families in India The Beneficiaries
Inside Philanthropy
One Funder Intrigued by New Ways to Finance Education in Poor Countries: Gates
The Spice Adventuress
Celebrating the ‘Great Australian Curry’ with a Delicious Jaffna style Goat Curry
Sight Magazine
Opportunity International Mobilises Australians To Empower In India Towards A Healthier Future
Fundraising and Philanthropy Magazine Australasia
Industry Insider September – Empowering Indian women living in poverty: Women4Women India
bharattimes.com
Cricketer and Olympian Head for a Curry Cook-Off to Create 'The Great Australian Curry'
Pro Bono Australia
World Entrepreneurs’ Day to celebrate efforts to end poverty in developing countries
Japan In Melbourne
Roslyn Foo, Event Director of Glamorazzi & founder of “Dining for Charity"
The Jeremy Vine Show BBC Radio 2
The Power of Microfinance on Educating Children in the Developing World
The World Loves Melbourne
Win $300 Dinner at Amazing Babu Ji with Opportunity International Australia
Sharking for Chips and Drinks
Food For Thought: Your Opportunity To Make A Global Difference
SIMNA
'You have to start somewhere'… Advice on measuring social impact from Opportunity International
The Economic Times
What Opportunity International's Vicki Escarra & Carly Fiorina are doing to empower Indian women
The Sydney Morning Herald