Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation, founded in 1997, was inspired by the work of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank and a global leader in the fight against poverty. Muhammad Yunus was a founding member of Grameen Foundation’s Board of Directors and today serves as a member emeritus.

Grameen Foundation was created to take global Professor Yunus' work with Grameen Bank, which began as a radical experiment to lend $27 U.S. to 42 basket weavers in Bangladesh on the strength of their character alone. The women not only repaid the loan, but they also made a small profit. The bedrock principle behind Grameen Bank is that the poor are lacking in resources but not trustworthiness or financial sensibility.

One billion women around the world can’t access loans, markets, business training, or even open bank accounts. And when they can, other barriers stand in their way, such as gender-based violence and grueling unpaid household work.

Grameen works with women and girls to build a supporting ecosystem, using technology and innovation to break these barriers.

In this way, we create the space for women and girls to show up with their full power. And they use this power to feed their families, pay for school fees and healthcare, and grow their businesses. Together, we expand these efforts so their families, and entire communities, can escape poverty and hunger.