ABSTRACT
The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh holds an iconic position in the world of microfinance. It is credited with proving that ‘the poor are bankable’; the Grameen ‘model’ has been copied in more than 40 countries; it is the most widely cited development success story in the world; and its charismatic founder-director, Professor Muhammad Yunus, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. By the end of January 2011 it had 8.4 million clients and outstanding loans of US$955 million. By any measure, it is an organization that has impacted greatly on the lives of many poor people and on ideas about microfinance, poverty reduction and international development.
