FORMER MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE JOINS OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL AS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Greg Nelson Will Lead Development of Technological Innovations to Increase Financial Inclusion and Business Development Efforts in Developing Countries

CHICAGO, July 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity International announced today that Greg Nelson has joined the organization as its next Chief Technology Officer.

"Greg's addition to our ranks at Opportunity marks an important next step in our strategy to end extreme poverty," said Atul Tandon, Opportunity's CEO. "The vast majority of people living on less than $2.15 a day have subsistence level livelihoods with little to no access to resources, skills and even the time to help build sustainable incomes. Greg's expertise and leadership will build technology solutions that can break down these barriers and provide our clients with what they need to build incomes and beat back poverty."

Prior to joining Opportunity, Greg spent 26 years at Microsoft and was based in Seattle, London and Paris. His final role was Vice President of Partner Ecosystem for Business Applications, helping Microsoft's developer community use tools and platforms to grow their businesses. His other roles at the company spanned engineering, partner and business development, marketing and sales.

Greg will oversee Opportunity's Digital Innovation Group (DIG) which combines Opportunity's Digital Financial Services team and Product Innovation team to build solutions that enable Opportunity clients to improve their livelihoods and break the cycle of generational poverty.

"I've been a fan of Opportunity's work since the mid-1990s, and have really enjoyed my service as a board member over the past two years," said Nelson. "Now I am excited to work more closely alongside some of the most effective experts in international development, finding ways to bring technology-based solutions to help our clients build their futures."

Greg has served on Opportunity's board of directors as an active member of the Stewardship & Impact Committee, where he has led an envisioning process using human-centered design to deeply understand the needs and motivations of Opportunity's clients to inform technology decisions and program investment areas. He holds an MBA from Harvard, as well as degrees from the University of Cape Town and Seattle Pacific University.

About Opportunity International

Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been empowering people to work their way out of poverty for 52 years. Opportunity provides 18.7 million people with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. Opportunity International released more than $2.6 billion in capital across 30 countries in 2022.

The organization's Digital Financial Services program focuses on human-centered design processes to best serve individuals experiencing extreme poverty. In 2022, the DFS program supported over 3.2 million digital transactions to our clients.

Discover more at opportunity.org or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contact: Joe Dutra, [email protected]

SOURCE Opportunity International