The Transformation Lens: Providing Opportunities for Economic Betterment and Life Abundant

This white paper introduces Opportunity International's Transformation Lens, a framework that Opportunity International uses to examine its actions and make sure that they are meeting clients' needs for whole-life transformation. The paper presents case studies to explain the requirements needed to translate this vision into actual changes in clients' lives. The Transformation Lens assists Opportunity International's member organizations in evaluating and planning financial services to actually contribute to whole-life transformation. Opportunity seeks to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of clients by:

• Listening to clients and understanding their financial situations and needs;
• Designing products and services which meet their needs;
• Delivering services through respectful relationships.

The Transformation Lens exercise can be broken down into two steps:

• Placing each financial product under the Transformation Lens and mapping how it responds to each dimension of identified need within clients' lives;
• Identifying dimensions of transformation that the institution may not be adequately addressing and discussing ways to strengthen responses.