In 1974, a farmer named Ketut received Opportunity International’s first loan in Asia. With $50, Ketut and his wife began a tailoring business after purchasing a sewing machine. The microfinance program proved as effective as it was replicable in 2020 alone, Opportunity assisted more than 6 million families across Asia with small loans.
February 19, 2021
By Opportunity International
As Al was beginning his work in Latin America and raising support for microloans in Washington DC, another innovative humanitarian leader was exploring similar opportunities on the other side of the world.
David Bussau grew up in an Anglican boys home in Australia and began his own entrepreneurial journey by renting a hot dog stand when he was 15 years old. He loved running his small business, and over the course of the next 20 years, he launched several successful enterprises.
In 1974, he and his family had reached what David called the economics of enough. Because of their business success, they had more than they needed and were in a position to serve others, so they decided to travel to Darwin, Australia to help the victims of Cyclone Tracey. Soon after, David went to Indonesia to help with an earthquake recovery program. It was an experience that shifted David s perspective and his future.
January 15, 2021
By Laura DesGranges
To begin our 50-year celebration, there is no better place to start than at the beginning. While today we serve 14 million people, the Opportunity International story starts with one.
Long before he was a “client” of ours, Carlos Moreno was one of nearly a million people in Cali, Colombia working desperately to provide for his family. He searched for needs that weren’t being met in his community and noticed an opportunity waiting for him in the spice market. He and his wife began grinding garlic and onions by hand to make salt, working together in their small home to put food on the table for their family.
Sorry – the page you are looking for has been removed
This is because it was advertisement feature content that was published as part of a commercial deal and funded by an advertiser.
It is Guardian News and Media policy to take down paid-for content at the end of these deals.
Click here for more on our commercial content guidelines.
If you want to contact someone about the page, you can email: