Microfinance Maximise Your Impact

How it works

Access to financial services is at the heart of the fight to end poverty. Our vision has always been for a world where everyone can achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose.

We do this through effective, accredited programs in India and Indonesia that focus on empowering women to lead their families out of poverty:

• Small loans that help families start or grow their own small businesses and earn regular incomes
• Savings accounts to provide a secure way to save for the future
• Microinsurance that protects them against emergencies and financial shocks
• Money transfers, mobile transactions, payments and remittances.

	A donation is received Microfinance is a sustainable solution to poverty. By giving out small loans instead of hand-outs, we’re able to steward your donations, making sure that for each dollar you invest in families living in poverty, more than one dollar will end up in the hands of those who need it most.
	Funds are leveraged Once received, funds are usually leveraged by our local program partners. The funds you provide are used as an indication of financial strength – enabling our program partners to borrow more money from other lenders. These combined funds are then available to loan to a larger number of families, maximising the impact of your initial donation.
	Recycling takes place Loans are then recycled, ensuring that your donation is continually at work. Opportunity has a loan repayment rate of 98%, meaning that once a person repays their loan, it is re-lent to someone else. This next loan will also be repaid and so on. This recycling means that more families are able to start businesses and begin to work their way out of poverty – using what are essentially the same funds.
	Costs are reduced Leveraging and the recycling of loans mean that the one-off costs it takes for Opportunity to run our programs represents a continually diminishing proportion of your donation. As time goes on, the percentage of this initial cost gets less and less. There are no more costs, but your donation remains at work, increasing your impact.
	Impact is increased As loan recipients create successful businesses, their business profits will have a ripple effect. With an increased income, a family can begin to afford nutritious food, proper shelter, medical care and an education for their children. Plus, as families use loans to expand their businesses, many go on to employ others – creating jobs for others in their community and boosting the local economy.
	A new cycle begins Opportunity’s holistic approach also focuses on improving the quality of education, training community health leaders, and empowering women.