Programs
Rather than directly administering microfinance programs, Grameen Foundation provides funds and technical assistance to local and regional microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other poverty-focused organizations. Grameen Foundation works with these organizations to:
- Help them find financing, either through loan-guarantee programs (Growth Guarantees) or direct funding (Pioneer Fund)
- Improve their IT systems, through Mifos, its open-source MIS software
- Ensure that their staff are as productive as possible, through services and consulting provided by its Human Capital Center
- Measure whether their efforts are reaching the poor, though its Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI)
Working with local and global allies, Grameen Foundation also develops and distributes mobile phone-based applications to help the poor to better manage:
- Their health, through such programs as the Mobile Technology for Community Health (MOTECH) initiative in Ghana
- Their crops, through such programs as the Community Knowledge Worker initiative in Uganda
- Their finances, though such programs as the Mobile Money initiative in Kenya
Grameen Foundation also works to help the poor receive training and benefit from small-business opportunities, further enabling them to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families.
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