Integral to the Grameen America model are the notions of Group and Center.  The Group is a self-identified unit of five entrepreneurs, each of whom wants a loan to build or expand a small business.  A Center is composed of Groups and meets weekly with a Center Manager to repay loans and make savings deposits.  Just as “networking” is an essential notion for professionals, the Group and Center structure provides the basis for effective networking for borrowers, linking them to resources and ideas that may be otherwise unavailable.  Through the Group and Center, borrowers share solutions to business challenges, identify opportunities for sales growth, and provide support and encouragement both personally and professionally.

This support network directly impacts our strong repayment rate, which is consistently around 99%. 

All borrowers open personal savings accounts with a local bank and must contribute at least $2 per week; however, many borrowers deposit significantly more than this required minimum. Grameen America has worked with local banks to establish savings accounts that are interest bearing, without fees, and without a minimum balance. In addition to this personal savings account, all borrowers receive an ATM card, which they can easily use to access their accounts. 

All borrowers go through an initial 5-day Continuous Group Training (CGT) with their group of five prior to receiving their first micro-loan.  Grameen America supports transparency and spends time teaching its borrowers about their micro-loan, interest rate, and loan commitment. Through our financial literacy program, each borrower has improved access to financial resources including: licensing for small businesses, filing taxes, welfare, and education issues.  Each borrower receives 55 hours of financial literacy training per year.  Learn more about our education
program here.

Grameen America has partnered with Experian to provide borrowers with an opportunity to build credit, a service not normally provided to the poor by lending institutions. Grameen America educates borrowers on the importance of credit ratings, scores, and reports, including topics such as credit basics, improving credit, and obtaining a credit report and score. As a result of this program, borrowers who had no credit history prior to joining Grameen America now have credit scores averaging 670. Additionally, borrowers with adverse credit history are working towards improving their credit through regular loan repayments.

Grameen America supports any entrepreneur with a dream of starting or expanding a business.  While we will support any business idea, beauty (including salon services), clothing / tailoring services and cooking or food-related activities are among the most popular businesses among our current set of borrowers.