Opportunity International Australia is motivated by a genuine love for, and belief in, the potential of poor people. They believe a world without extreme poverty is possible, and they exist to help people make their way out of poverty permanently.

Opportunity International Australia uses a business and entrepreneurial approach to solve the problem of poverty. Rather than a hand-out, they provide people living in poverty with small loans to help them start or grow their own small businesses. This enables them to earn a regular income so they no longer have to struggle to afford the basic necessities of life.

Part of a global network, Opportunity International Australia is a leading provider and pioneer of microfinance and enterprise development services. In business for more than 35 years, they are presently providing a way out of poverty for more than a million people in 27 developing countries around the world. Believing that microfinance paves the way for sustainable and far-reaching change, their desire is to see clients, families and communities transformed with dignity, empowerment and hope.

In the coming months, we will be illustrating the impact Opportunity International Australia has on the lives of people living in poverty with a number of inspiring stories from their clients. Through these, it is clear to see how a small loan can make a big difference in someone’s life.

For more information, please visit www.opportunity.org.au

We’re almost half way through the year and hasn’t it gone quickly. This month we have some exciting news to share about improving your operational efficiency through video conferencing, new client stories and our latest community partnership.
 

Video conferencing is something that we’ve implemented in our business and the operational efficiency impact has been overwhelming. Being an IT services company our staff are in disparate locations at all times of the day. In the past, it meant team meetings were less effective or in some cases postponed until a face to face meeting could be setup. Video conferencing has improved our productivity and the effectiveness of remote meetings.

Industries including banking, insurance, education, healthcare and government are set to take up this technology in large numbers according to Polycom. And the reason….. it saves you time and money! Netscout recently reported that a study of the use of VC found the reduction in travel costs as the main reason for using the technology. The use of video conferencing puts an end to employees going to and from meetings whether it is across the city, across the country or across the world. The result is an increase in productivity in the elimination of ‘travel time’ and a reduction of travel and loss of productivity costs.

Other reasons for the increase in take up include the implementation of fibre optic cabling, the decreasing cost of broadband, improvements in video conferencing technologies including cheaper hardware, has also made the technology cheaper and more accessible to the wider population.

VC also allows employees to live where they work.

We’re also excited to share that The Cavalry has partnered with Opportunity International (OI) to help make a difference to the growing problem of world poverty.  Our team will be involved in community activities that will help OI continue to help people make their way out of poverty permanently.

For more information on video conferencing head to the links below:

http://www.crn.com.au/News/77684,polycom-heralds-the-future-of-video-conferencing.aspx
http://www.crn.com.au/News/77479,communication-comes-of-age.aspx
http://www.crn.com.au/News/76794,videoconferencing-gains-momentum.aspx