Grameen Foundation : What we do : Technology Programs : Village Phone : Heritage
Our Heritage: Grameen Village Phone in Bangladesh
The Grameen Village Phone Program in Bangladesh puts cellular phones in the hands of very poor women who operate it as a business. These micro entrepreneurs buy the phone with a loan from the Grameen Bank and then sell the use of it on a per call basis.
The program has been wildly successful. The entire village benefits for their business venture. By making a phone call a small producer can check on the market price of goods and therefore better negotiate a price for their goods with middlemen.
Grameen Phone is the largest cellular phone company in all of South Asia with over 8.5 million subscribers. Thanks to Grameen Telecom, micro entrepreneurs operate over 220,000 of these as a business, bringing phone service to at least that many rural villages in Bangladesh.
Grameen Foundation : What we do : Technology Programs : Village Phone : Heritage
Grameen Foundation uses microfinance and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring opportunities to the world's poorest people. With tiny loans and financial services, we help the poor, mostly women, start businesses and escape poverty. Our global network of 55 microfinance institution (MFI) partners including our Growth Guarantee partners has touched more than 34 million people in 24 countries. In addition, we introduced and now sustain technology initiatives (Mifos and Village Phone) in Cameroon, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, bringing our total country outreach to 28.
+1-202-628-3560 www.grameenfoundation.org
You can help