Grameen Micro Loan Program For DC
Grameen bank is famous for pioneering the concept of the micro loan, and since its founding in 1976 the organization has made more than $9 billion of these loans to poor and unemployed borrowers. Its US offshoot is having difficulty in raising $6 million to bring micro loans for the poor to Washington DC, however. The founder of Grameen, Muhammad Yunus, visited DC a year ago in April to announce his plans to open a local micro-lending center in one of the city's poorer communities.
The idea was to provide loans in small amounts to poor women, just as has been done overseas, so that they could start their own businesses without having to pay fees and high interest rates required by other loan providers. Corporate partners pledged to aid the effort with $1.2 million in funding, but Grameen America has raised barely $100,000 more since that time, leaving it about $4.7 million short of its target.