Give Opportunity to the DR Congo

In this country, roughly the geographical size of Europe and plagued by war, economic instability and corruption, an Opportunity International financial institution can help to make the difference between families being able to afford only three meals per week to families being able to afford three meals per day.

The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have suffered greatly over the past 40 years. Ethnic conflict and a civil war between government troops and rebel groups in Eastern Congo have contributed to high levels of poverty. Only 1 percent of the DRC’s citizens have access to basic financial services. Fortunately, recent economic liberalization has opened up opportunities that will allow sustainable economic growth to gain a foothold.Here are some of the recent accomplishments of our operations in the DRC. 

• Opportunity DRC plays a critical role in this country's growth process by providing financial services such as loans,savings and training to hardworking entrepreneurs and their families. Opportunity DRC’s operations began in January 2011, giving many microentrepreneurs in the Masina market of Kinshasa their first access to small business capital. We are also the first microfinance provider in the Congo to use biometric fingerprint recognition for clients to access their accounts.
• In addition to that, we focus heavily on personal growth for staff and clients. The transformation program comprises five modules, covering topics such as family health, nutrition, and disease prevention and control. The training is in Lingala, the local language, and pertinent to life in Kinshasa. Lessons on nutrition, for example, use local food rather than the generic food pyramid.

Thank you for all of your support for our DRC operations since 2011. 24 out of 25 of the worlds poorest countries are in Africa. In order to have the largest impact on this region, we would like to combine this project into a broader "Banking on Africa, 7660" project. This project spans multiple countries including - Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Uganda. This project has the same mission and vision of #7928 which is to provide access to financial solutions empowering people living in poverty to transform their lives, their children’s futures and their communities. If you have any questions about our work in Kenya and the rest of Africa or our decision to combine projects please email us at getinfo@opportunity.org