Poverty is a major problem across the world, and eradicating is the first priority for all governments. The Grameen bank (Village Bank) which is visible now, provides microcredit and loans for ordinary people to uplift them from vicious cycles of poverty.
Did you know it was started in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus, a professor by profession? He is currently the interim chief advisor of the Bangladesh government. He was also a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Grameen banks are across 100 countries, including India. That's the impact it created on the economies and people.
The Grameen bank Journey
While Muhammad Yunus was teaching at Chittagong university, he took a few students on a trip to a nearby village called Jobra. He saw a poor lady who was a bamboo basket weaver asking for money from local lenders, which was a tiny amount with absolutely no value. Yunus also saw high potential in those workers. He started visiting commercial and government banks, but everyone refused to support his cause. As the poor people had no documents or can take collateral-based loans.
After all his efforts, with his own salary, he started Grameen bank by giving them microcredits. It all started with trust and mutual respect with less interest than everybody. He initially gave $27 to 42 people for their small bamboo business. This resulted in huge success and large people started visiting Grameen bank for support and microcredits.
Grameen bank Model – Data
- Origin: Bangladesh
- Countries using the Grameen model: 100+ countries including India.
- Grameen Bank borrowers (Bangladesh): 10.62 million
- Villages covered: 81,678
- Branches: 2,568
- People benefited: About 45 million (including borrowers' families)
- Women borrowers: About 97% of Grameen Bank borrowers are women.
- Grameen Bank has provided about ₹3.6 lakh crore in small loans to millions of poor people.
- The government also recognized it, which later became popular across the world. The Grameen bank initiative put millions of families out of poverty and uplifted their lifestyle. Most of the customers of Grameen bank were women, who further established and protected their families with the money they earned. The Grameen Bank initiative is truly a remarkable policy which has transformed rural banking systems.
