Grameen America's Bay Area Disburses 1st Loan
May 25, 2012 | 9:46 AM
Labels: Bay Area, Bay Area Microfinance, California Microcredit, Field Stories, San Francisco Microfinance, US Poverty
Opportunities and
microloans spread to San Francisco's Bay Area
Our first loans were
disbursed to two women living in Alameda and East Oakland, CA. Grameen
America’s first Borrower sells cosmetics and clothing from catalogues and hopes
to expand her business with the loan.
Our second Borrower runs her own cleaning
service and with her $1,500 loan hopes to provide a suite of services to
customers.
Fifteen more Borrowers have applied for Grameen America loans and
thousands of more potential Borrowers are being actively recruited by our
dedicated team.
Grameen America will
be serving the Oakland community, 22% of whom fall below the poverty line.
Unemployment in Oakland is nearly 14% and over 48% of unemployed residents live
in poverty. Grameen America specifically targets single mother households, 38%
of which live in poverty. Based out of Fruitvale, CA, the Bay Area branch will
provide financial access Oakland poorest residents.