- Grameen Bank in figures
- 7 million beneficiaries in Bengladesh
- Repayment rate: 99%
Grameen Trust has developed the Grameen model in 38 countries.
Figures at end 2007
Look at the interview of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder and Managing Director of Grameen Bank.
Founders
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation brings together two groups that enjoy world-wide recognition for their commitment to economic solidarity.
Grameen Trust
Grameen trust is the sister organization of Grameen Bank, the benchmark in microfinance founded in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus,focusing on worldwide replication of the Grameen Bank model. It offers people who are excluded from the
banking system financing solutions to grow their business. Through microloans,
savings and insurance, Grameen Bank makes a significant contribution to
fighting poverty by giving the poorest people a chance to become self-sufficient.
Crédit Agricole S.A. named 2007 bank of the year
for its socially and environmentally responsible policies
Crédit Agricole recently won recognition for its commitment to social
and environmental responsibility (SER) from Innovest and The Banker
magazine.
>>
For more information
Common convictions
Solidarity, trust and responsibility: Grameen and Crédit Agricole draw
their know-how from common values.
Like the cooperative MFIs, the Crédit Agricole Mutuel Local Banks created
starting in 1884 were grass-roots entities. Their purpose was to alleviate
the difficulties encountered by farmers in obtaining financing, who at
the time were dependent on usurious lenders and landowners.
Crédit Agricole has always combined mutualist values with a stringent,
effective approach to ensure that its local banks are financially independent
and profitable.
The Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation is combining the expertise of the pioneer in microfinance with that of France's largest banking and insurance group, making it a leading operator in the fight against poverty and social exclusion.
In 1976, while teaching economics at the University of Chittagong (Bengladesh), Muhammad Yunus was stricken by the gap between the theories he was teaching and the situations that his students experienced.
Bengladesh had fallen prey to famine and poverty after the war of independence. Professor Yunus tried to help the people by inducing the banks to lend money to the poorest. He did not succeed in this endeavour.
After encountering rejection from the banking system, he decided to become personally involved in fighting poverty.
Working from the principle that a minimal amount of money – for example, what was needed to buy a sewing machine – was enough to start or develop a business, he loaned $27 to
42 women in the village of Jobra.
The operation was a success and the women scrupulously repaid every loan instalment. This was a strong argument that would help Professor Yunus to turn this new activity into a formal undertaking by creating Grameen Bank.
On 13 October 2006, Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
>> Back to top
