ABSTRACT
The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh holds an iconic position in the world of microfinance. The group based lending model, targeted at poor, rural women, that is synonymous with the Grameen Bank contrasts markedly with the two other iconic microfinance institutions (MFIs), Bank Rakyat Indonesia and BancoSol of Bolivia. The early success of the Grameen model was matched by Yunus’s personal energy and enthusiasm. Achieving an effective organizational structure was, perhaps, more challenging. Over the 1980s and early 1990s the Grameen Bank steadily expanded with large inflows of donor funding. Within Bangladesh the Grameen Bank now plays an important role as a substantial MFI that meets client needs and helps to promote competition within the financial markets. It helps the citizens of the rich world understand that poor people are active agents in the processes of development and not passive recipients of food aid and humanitarian relief as the media usually stereotype them.
