Micro steps towards richer life

Grameen bank is like no other lender. After nearly half a century, the so-called "bank for the poor" is growing exponentially.

- ALAN DEANS

It has more than 2500 branches globally and granted microfinance loans totalling $US36 billion ($55 billion) to more than 10 million impoverished borrowers - people who couldn't get a foot in the door at most other banks.

Founded in Bangladesh - which once was one of the world's poorest countries but now has the fourth largest per capita income in Asia - Grameen is a driving force behind the nation's success. Its founder, Muhammad Yunus, is a Nobel Laureate.

Now the bank's ground-breaking microfinance model is cranking up its operations in Australia, following several years of trials and after establishing microfinance programs in the Philippines and Cambodia. The aim is to assist women looking to take their first steps to self-employment. Grameen targets women who find it difficult to borrow money, which means it has the field largely to itself.

Jamie Terzi, the new chief executive of Grameen Australia, explains: "We see ourselves as being the first step on the pathway to financial inclusion for women who, perhaps, are under the radar, don't have relationships with other banks, can't get large amounts of money, but need somebody to take a risk and help them as they start the journey."

Grameen has a proven business model, but every time it enters a new market there is a need to learn how to adapt. What is being rolled out here follows, in large part, what has worked for Grameen in America. The bank kicked off operations there in 2008 and now services communities in 25 cities. It has dispersed more than $US3 billion to nearly 170,000 women entrepreneurs. A telling statistic is that 891,000 loans have been made, indicating that borrowers take, on average, more than four loans to keep their businesses growing.