Micro Credit Background

    Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace prize winner along with the Grameen Bank, began loaning small
    amounts of money to the poorest of the poor of Bangladesh in 1976.  With tiny loans these impoverished
    people were able to begin to generate an income and break the devastating cycle of poverty.  The Grameen
    Bank, which Dr. Yunus founded in 1983, has helped 6 million people in Bangladesh lift themselves out of
    poverty.   Today there are about 3,000 micro finance institutions around the world helping over 100 million
    people.   The Guerrant Foundation supports Opportunity International and the Grameen Foundation.  
    This pyramid shows that 3 billion people, half of the world's population, live
    on less than $2 a day.  One billion people live on less than $1 a day.  
Micro finance is catching on as a poverty reduction tool!

10 million borrowers in 1998

113 million borrowers in 2005

84% are women

*Source: Micro Credit Summit Campaign