Grameen Foundation
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| Grameen Foundation | |
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| Founder(s) | Alex Counts |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., USA |
| Key people | Alex Counts – President & CEO Paul Maritz – Chair Muhammad Yunus - Founding Board Member |
| Area served | Asia, Africa, the Americas, Middle East |
| Focus | Poverty |
| Method | Microfinance |
| Slogan | Empowering people. Changing lives. Innovating for the world's poor. |
| Website | www.grameenfoundation.org |
Grameen Foundation, founded as Grameen Foundation USA, is a global 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington DC that works to replicate the Grameen Bank microfinance model around the world through a global network of partner microfinance institutions. Its CEO is Alex Counts.
It is separate from organizations called Grameen Foundation in different countries, such as Grameen Foundation Australia.[1]
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[edit] History
The Foundation was founded in 1997 as a vehicle to replicate the model of Grameen Bank beyond the borders of Bangladesh and increase the access of poor people to microfinance by millions worldwide. Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, sits on the Board of Directors. Current chair of the board is Paul Maritz, founder of Picorp and formerly a senior executive at Microsoft.
[edit] Approach
Grameen Foundation operates under the mission, "to empower the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information."[2]
[edit] Reach
As of December 2007, Grameen Foundation works with 53 microfinance institutions reaching 6.2 million clients across 23 countries. In total, the network impacts an estimated 31 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. [3]
In April 2007, the Grameen Foundation and Abdul Lateef Jameel Co. joint venture was formally established under the name Grameen-Jameel Pan Arab Microfinance Ltd. Known as Grameen-Jameel for short, it serves the Middle East and North Africa region where it represents Grameen Foundation. Grameen-Jameel is currently headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon.
[edit] Trivia
Voted into the top 25 of world changing ideas in 2007 Members Project by American Express cardholders.
[edit] Further reading
- Yunus, Muhammad (1999). Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-891620-11-8.
- Measuring the Impact of Microfinance: Taking Stock of What We Know; Nathanael Goldberg, December 2005.
- iinnovate podcast series interviews Alex Counts, founder and CEO of Grameen Foundation
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Grameen-Jameel Pan Arab Microfinance Ltd.
- Grameen Foundation Australia, replicating the Grameen Bank model within South East Asia
- Nokia, Grameen Collaborate for African Villages Highway Africa News Agency, November 25, 2005. [4]
