"“If you want to help the people of Myanmar, farming is a pretty good place to start. Despite the country’s rapid urbanisation in recent years, the population remains overwhelmingly rural, with 70 percent of people relying on the land for their livelihoods,” said a recent blog post by Proximity Designs. This came after the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) committed US$8 million to Proximity Finance on April 3 to support expanded micro lending to rural Myanmar borrowers, primarily smallholder farmers. The Skoll Foundation, a long-term supporter of Proximity Finance, committed an additional US$2 million of subordinated debt as part of the co-financing package. “By expanding their access to affordable credit, OPIC’s partnership with Proximity Designs will equip smallholder farmers to improve their yields, expand their enterprises, and help their communities thrive,” said OPIC’s acting President and CEO David Bohigian. Proximity Finance, which designs its loans to meet the needs of smallholder farmers, is the microfinance arm of Proximity Designs, a social enterprise that serves the needs of over 100,000 households in 2000 villages, primarily in farming..."