Professor Muhammad Yunus Named One of        "The 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs" We are pleased to announce that Professor Yunus has been named one of “The 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs of Our Time” by Fortune® in April’s cover story. Professor Yunus is the only social entrepreneur in this group of innovative luminaries who have “changed the face of business” including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and John Mackey (Whole Foods Market). We salute Professor Yunus’ achievements as he continues to transform business, society and the lives of millions of our neighbors living in poverty. Read full story HERE.

“Women Are Not The Exception”

As a Microfinance Institution, Grameen America has a natural tendency to focus on women. Grameen America serves America’s poorest of the poor: Individuals earning ~$11,000 per year or ~$22,000 for a family of four. With a maximum first time loan of $1,500, Grameen America seeded businesses are truly micro. Gail is spot on, people associate microfinance with women but entrepreneur with men. Yet, after 4 years of micro-loans, many of our women have moved from door-to-door sales, to street carts, to storefronts. A $7,500 loan, our largest loan to date, is empowering a true entrepreneur. Newly created businesses grow to micro and expand to small are not exceptions!  As Gail claims, we as a society “aim low and think small when it comes to women.” But, we “must move beyond micro hopes and micro ambitions for women.” If female run businesses will create ~5MM jobs by 2018, female entrepreneurship is fundamentally linked to global growth and global employment!

 

We've complied a list of words to describe what Grameen means to us. What words jump out at you? Which do you hope to see more of in 2012? Let's make it happen!

I recently came across a Forbes Op-Ed Piece, “The US is a Very Entrepreneurial Economy: It Just Doesn’t Have Many Entrepreneurs” by Tim Worstall. Based on the numbers, the US has fewer startups, fewer small businesses, and fewer one-man businesses than in Europe. While the US has many more, what he dubs, “’innovative entrepreneurs’”, those who introduce a new product to change the world, the US falls far behind in self-employment.

Yet, burgeoning entrepreneurs walk into Grameen America's doors every day.

The US has an abundance of entrepreneurs whom lack the financial resources to bring their ideas to market. With over 50 million people in the US unbanked or underbanked, access to startup capital is a socio-economic privilege.

Maybe not all Grameen America clients have the vision and skills to become an “innovative entrepreneur”, but with greater financial inclusion, they just might surprise you!