Al Whittaker (1918 – September 27, 2006) founded the

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Opportunity International Opportunity International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization chartered in the United States. Through a network of 47 program and support partners, Opportunity International provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to mor ...

and helped to popularize

microcredit Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically do not have access to traditional banking services due to a lack of collateral (finance), collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credi ...

lending. In 1971, Whittaker left his job as president of Bristol Myers to found the Institute for International Development Incorporated (IIDI), a micro-enterprise organization. Barry Harper was IIDI's first executive director and oversaw establishment of offices in Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Kenya, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia. Australian philanthropist David Bussau Maranatha Trust came on staff with IIDI in 1979 and began expanding its work in Asia. In 1988, IIDI changed its name to

. Since that time, it has continued to grow.

References

Interview in ''Hemispheres''

1918 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub