Poor Credit Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

Poor Credit Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

Poor Credit Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

 Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty Paperback – January 8, 2008

In the 1970s Professor Mohammed Yunus had a great idea on how to help the poor of Bangladesh and he made it work. He invented micro-credit, or lending very small amounts to the poorest of the poor, without asking for collateral. This, rather than simple handouts, would help the poor become self-reliant enough so that they could lift themselves out of poverty. He concentrated on women. He relied on peer support to motivate repayment of the loans by making loans to one member of a group of women who would have access to credit only if the entire group had a good credit record (when a group started, they were assumed to have good credit). Professor Yunus's organization, the Grameen Bank, is a cooperative owned mostly by its members and boasts a repayment rate over 98%.

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Poor Credit Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty