Microfinance Horizon

13 December 2010 [BangkokPost] Bangladeshi microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus on Sunday attacked companies for “misusing and abusing” his original concept of helping poor people via small loans, after a backlash against profit-making lenders. Yunus admitted the reputation of micro-credit had been tarnished due to Indian commercial companies that charge high interest rates and use allegedly [...]

Read Full Post »

10 December 2010 [Syminvest] Microfinance pioneer Grameen Bank on Wednesday welcomed a report by Norway that cleared its founder Muhammad Yunus of misusing aid money, removing a cloud that had hovered over the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Last week, a Norwegian documentary alleged that 96 million dollars had been diverted from Grameen Bank, which provides [...]

Read Full Post »

By Syed Tashfin Chowdhury 5 December 2010 [AsiaTimes] DHAKA – Claims that Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in Bangladesh to provide small loans to the poor, diverted as much as US$100 million in funds from international donors to his own companies are being investigated by the Norwegian government. [...]

Read Full Post »

26 November 2010 [ADB] The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend financial assistance of $615 million for a major bridge project in Bangladesh which will help accelerate growth and poverty reduction in the country’s poor and underdeveloped southwest. ADB’s Board of Directors today approved the loan funds for the construction of a multipurpose bridge across the [...]

Read Full Post »

By Eric Bellman 10 November 2010 [WSJ] Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank has repeatedly said in the past that turning the microfinance industry into a high-profit, high growth business could end up hurting the poor. (Photo Credit – Getty Images) Backlash against the booming microfinance industry that has thrown Andhra Pradesh into crisis may be [...]

Read Full Post »