Grameen Grows Footprint

September 23, 2010

Grameen Foundation and a group in China known as the YouChange Foundation, have announced a landmark collaboration intended to boost access to microfinance among the rural poor in China.

Although poverty rates have fallen in recent years, millions of Chinese still face persistant poverty. YouChange is the fist social business in China based on the principles put forth by Muhammad Yunus.

"This new entity will serve as a platform for empowering tens of millions of poor people in rural China to transform their own lives through access to financial services, especially very small loans," Grameen said in a statement.

The alliance is intended to make it possible for microfinance institutions to grow reach and impact through access to new and improved products and services.

Grameen Bank has been working in China since 2003, but the deal with YouChange creates an opportunity for China to establish itself as a microfinance powerhouse, Alex Counts, president and CEO of Grameen Foundation, suggested in a recent statement.

50 million American households are considered "unbanked" - they have no relationships with federally insured financial institutions