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Kifaru Youth Group

August 03, 2012

Members of the Kifaru Youth Group, a microfinance loan group based in the Nairobi suburb of Kawangware, meets in June to update their finances. The group is supported with microloans from Equity Bank’s Kawangware branch, which opened in 2007 and has since seen its customer base grow from 5000 members to 80,000. “Kawangware is a slum that is becoming a
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Monthly news wrap-up: July 2012

August 01, 2012

This month, Ernst & Young released a new report, Rapid-Growth Markets Forecast Summer edition 2012, which explores how soaring domestic demand in many developing markets “is poised to change the rules of the world economy.” By 2020, the report says, the number of middle-class households in emerging countries will more than double, overtaking the U.S. and Eurozone with nearly 150
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Sharing OPIC’s story: A conversation with Judith Pryor, Vice President of Office of External Affairs

July 31, 2012

In your experience, what is it that people find most interesting about OPIC’s work and what do they find most surprising? It varies by audience, of course, but in general OPIC’s project success stories are what people are most interested in. People like to hear how two college friends who traveled through Brazil came up with the idea to introduce
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“The most promising frontier market in the world today”

July 27, 2012

OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield told Congress on Wednesday July 25 that Africa presented extensive investment and development opportunities but that U.S. businesses remain underrepresented on the continent. During the panel discussion, Embracing Africa’s Market Potential, before the Africa Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Littlefield described how OPIC supports long-term U.S. investments in Africa through political risk insurance,
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Featured photo: Helping more farmers grow more food

July 27, 2012

The head agronomist at the Forestry Agricultural Investment Management (FAIM) farm in Rwamagana, Rwanda. FAIM is  applying its plant propagation technology to improve crop yields, and obtained a loan from OPIC in 2012 to support its work in Rwanda, the most densely populated country in Africa, where many families suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition. While a majority of Rwandans are
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Featured photo: International community school expansion in Kumasi, Ghana

July 20, 2012

A student at the International Community School (ICS) in Kumasi, Ghana. An OPIC loan has helped fund the expansion of this K-12 school, which offers rigorous curriculum that prepares students for college and careers. Unlike other International Schools in Ghana that serve a largely expatriate population, ICS focuses on educating local Ghanaians, who comprise 91% of the student body and
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U.S. businesses are underrepresented in emerging markets, Littlefield says

July 17, 2012

At a time that the U.S. economy is tied more closely than ever to the world economy and some of the strongest economic growth is occurring in developing countries, American businesses are underrepresented in many of these high-growth regions, OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield said. Littlefield, who spoke on Tuesday, July 17 at the Women in Finance symposium at
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Monthly news wrap-up: June 2012

July 05, 2012

June was an eventful month for OPIC, which hosted its latest board meeting and approved several funding deals addressing a range of development challenges in a variety of regions. The board’s approvals included two solar projects in Peru, an Internet expansion project in East Africa, and several new investment funds that will bring the latest renewable energy technologies to emerging
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Extending the reach of microfinance

June 11, 2012

OPIC’s 2011 annual report takes a look back at the agency’s first 40 years and highlights some lending programs from the 1970s that delivered loans – sometimes in amounts less than $1,000 – to individuals and small businesses in developing countries. Decades before microfinance became widely recognized as an effective tool for supplying small loans to individuals and small businesses, OPIC was
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OPIC Executive Vice President Mimi Alemayehou Discusses Extensive Growth Opportunities in Africa

May 21, 2012

In this Q&A video, OPIC Vice President Mimi Alemayehou discusses the extensive growth opportunities in Africa, including the demand for energy and power as the continent continues to develop.

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