Micro Finance Provides Opportunity
Micro Finance has proved to be one of the most powerful engines
in the global effort to end the crushing poverty that deprives hundreds
of millions of the world's people of sustenance and hope.
It is based on the idea that if you give a poor person a very small loan for use in a self-employment venture, you will get an amazing return on your investment. The borrower will not only work to end their poverty, but they will also improve the life of their family and strengthen their community.
Micro Finance programs have given many of the world's poorest people the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty altogether. The increases in household income allow borrowers to provide greater quantities and more nutritious foods to their families, to educate their children and to improve their houses.
SPBD is a Member of the Microcredit Summit
SPBD has joined the Micro Credit Summit. The Summit is a worldwide effort
of micro finance practitioners to reach out to 100 million of the world's
poorest families and to provide them with micro credit facilities.
Over 1,100 micro finance organizations in over 100 countries from around the world are working together to achieve this objective.
In the last five years since the launch of the campaign, over 30 million poor persons from around the world have been reach with microcredit services. While there is a long way still to go to reach the Summit's ambitious goal, much capacity has been put in place, and the Campaign remains optimistic about reaching its noble objective.
Visit the microcredit summit at its website at http://www.microcreditsummit.org
SPBD is a Replication of the Grameen Bank
SPBD is a replication of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.
The Grameen Bank, founded by Prof. Mohammed Yunus, is the pioneering organization in the field of micro finance. Professor Yunus initiated the Grameen Bank by lending out of his own pocket to a few peasants back in the early 1980's. He has since grown his organization in to a bank funding over 2 million Bengali peasants. The Grameen Bank retains an over 95% repayment rate, the envy of all traditional Western styled banks.
The Grameen Bank philosophy to microcredit includes 1)specifically targetting the poor, 2)providing completely unsecured credit, 3)for the purpose of starting small businesses based around existing livelihood skills. 4)Members are trained and 5)form themselves into self-chosen groups of five which act as loan guarantee groups. The Grameen methodology has clealy proven that the poor of the world are bankable and that microcredit is a great enabler towards ending global poverty.
The Grameen Trust works with and provides some funding to Grameen replications from around the world. The Grameen Network now reaches out to over 3 million poor persons in 28 developing nations across the world. We are proud to be a part of the network.
You can visit the Grameen Bank and its affiliate the Grameen Trust at http://www.grameen.com
