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A searchable database of over 200 International NGOs operating in China.
The material presented here was compliled mainly on the basis of information supplied (and / or published) by the organisations profiled. We have made every effort to ensure fairness and accuracy, but should make clear to readers that these are independent portraits, not 'authorised' biographies.
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Opportunity International
Mission:"Giving the poor a working chance."
In China since: 2003
Annual China budget: $250,000
Number of staff: 29 national and 3 expatriate
Mainland China contact:
William Baumann 鲍文
General Manager 总经理
安徽230011合肥市金寨路162号 11楼1106—1110室 国际机遇担保公司
Tel: +86 (0)551 3660964
Fax:+86 (0)551 3660961
Activities in Other Countries:
27 countries worldwide
Religious Affiliation:
Christian
This global network, devoted to creating employment and business development opportunities for poor people, grew out of an international partnership between two successful entrepreneurs in the 1970s. In the United States, Al Whittaker, then President of Bristol-Myers International Corporation, gave up his position to found an ‘Opportunity’ programme in Latin America. At much the same time David Bussau, an Australian construction entrepreneur who was working on an earthquake rehabilitation project in Indonesia, decided to sell his business and create a trust to provide start-up loans for micro-enterprises. In 1979, the two men joined forces, laying the foundation for an international network that now has ‘support partners’ in seven countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and USA) and ‘implementing partners’ in 27 developing countries.
In China, OI is working on a pilot project to expand opportunities for small traders and business people in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, by improving their access to finance. Clients of the programme include laid-off workers and migrants from rural areas who have established small market stalls or services, but who lack money to invest in and so expand their businesses. OI does not itself lend money: rather, it guarantees loans made by the Hefei City Bank to clients who OI identifies and judges to be creditworthy, based on their character and capacity. OI expects that clients who have repaid an initial loan (of up to CNY 5,000) will be considered by
the bank as eligible for future loans even if they are not fully guaranteed. In this way, OI hopes not only to help those small entrepreneurs involved in the project, but also to help the bank recognise the wealth-creating potential of small entrepreneurs and so create appropriate loan products for them.
In 2003, the total income of the Australian member of the Opportunity International network was AUD 6.4 million. This was raised from individual donors, corporations and institutional grants. OI’s work in Hefei is supported by the Kadoorie Foundation.
Updated January 07- CKC
Links
http://www.opportunity.org
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