1/18/23
Today, out guest speaker was Kelli Walker, from Opportunity International (O.I.).
Headquartered in Chicago, O.I. is a 501non-profit organization. O.I.'s mission is to design, deliver, and scale innovative financial solutions that help families living in extreme poverty build sustainable livelihoods and access quality education for their children. O.I. equips families with the tools and training they need to build their business, improve their harvests, provides for their families, send their children to school, and break the cycle of poverty. 
With the financial support of individuals and strategic partners, O.I. works through numerous implementing partners in thirty countries to provide:
- Micro banking (7 million clients with loans / 15 million clients with savings / 94% of the people reached are women)
- Agriculture finance (70,000 people currently reached with Ag finance services / 31,000 loans currently disbursed to smallholder farmers / 39,000 farmers currently supported by Farmer Support Agents (trusted farmers who live and work in the communities who are equipped with smartphones to deliver trainings to other farmers).
- Education finance (2.8 million children reached by EdFinance programs / 81,000 families are using education fee loans)
- Innovative programs (includes women's economic empowerment / digital financial services / refugee services / vocational training for youth)
For additional information, visit the website at https://opportunity.org/