Grameen Bank

01 Feb 1998, Bangladesh. Professor Muhammed Yunas, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh visits several of the Grameen Bank Centers. The Bank pioneered the concept of small or microloans to women, allowing them to start businesses and gain economic power. One successful business has been the purchase of mobile phones. Women rent phone time at a profit to others in their village, allowing converations with husbands, fathers and sons working overseas. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Corbis

Original caption: Bangladeshi woman received a micro-loan from the Grameen Bank for a sewing machine. She is using it to earn a living. Her daughters watch as she uses the sewing machine. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Science Faction/Corbis

01 Feb 1998, Narsingdi, Bangladesh. A Bangladeshi woman who has received a small loan from Grameen Bank to produce dyed cloth looks at some of her products while they are drying. | Location: Narshinghdi, Bangladesh. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Corbis

01 Feb 1998, Bangladesh. Grameen Bank loans allow these Bangladeshi women to operate a business. With a $300 Grameen Bank loan, each purchased a phone as an investment, renting time to others in their village to communicate with family members, many of whom work overseas. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Corbis

ca. 1998, Bangladesh. Launched into business with a small loan from the Grameen Bank, a Bangladeshi woman travels from door to door selling cookware. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Corbis

01 Feb 1998, Narsingdi, Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh is a pioneer of small loans or microloans, that can help women start businesses and gain economic power. The loans are carefully monitored with strict repayment guidelines. Here, in the village of Narsinghdi, money to repay a loan is collected from participants in the program. The Grameen Bank approach is considered highly successful and is widely emulated. | Location: Narsinghdi, Bangladesh. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Corbis

Original caption: Saluting the future, women meeting near Dhaka to repay micro-loans acknowledge the official from the Grameen Bank, who freed them from lives of powerlessness and isolation. Clients are 95 percent female and 100 percent poor. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Science Faction/Corbis

Original caption: A Grameen Bank borrower saws wood as part her small business in a Bangladesh village. Image by © Karen Kasmauski/Science Faction/Corbis