The Rural Bank

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Grameen Bank is fighting poverty in Bangladesh one small loan at a time. The Micro Credit system was developed by Mohammad Yunus who is the founder of Grameen Bank. In Bengali, which is the official language of Bangladesh, Grameen means rural. That is exactly what Grameen Bank is, a rural bank for the poor. Grameen gives small loans that average about eighty-six dollars to villagers in Bangladesh who want to create a new business or build on an existing one. Grameen mostly focuses on women in these small villages because of the cultural limitations that are put on women in Bangladesh. It is becoming increasingly popular for the women of Bangladesh to take out these micro loans and make a business and become an important part of their village’s economy. Micro lending is increasingly popular for banks all over the world because of the ninety-eight percent repayment rate. The Boston Globe estimates about 150 million people have taken out a micro loan worldwide (Poor Women). Using the Micro Lending system, villagers can get themselves out of poverty by using the loans for their businesses.

Bangladesh has recently gained its independence from Pakistan in a civil war. In the country’s first thirty years, it could barely support itself and its people. In those times, most people in Bangladesh lived on less than a dollar a day. The country, it seems, was born into poverty. In the documentary “Pennies a Day” Yunus said, “Poverty is a darkness around you, there is no hope to be seen.” (qtd, Pennies) Since Bangladesh is a predominately Muslim country, Grameen Bank’s micro loans are given to mostly women, about ninety-six percent (Pennies). Women in Bangladesh are underrepresented and are usually not seen in the market place. Grameen is ch...

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