When Professor Muhammad Yunus reached into his pocket and loaned $27 to a group of Bangladeshi stool makers in 1976, he proved to the world that the seeds of microfinance could be planted with a single action. Grameen Foundation has taken Professor Yunus’ initial idea a step forward. Since 1997, we’ve worked with local organizations on the ground to empower more than 45 million people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We use microfinance and technology in tandem to find new ways to reach the one billion people living on less than a $1 a day.
For example, there are over five billion phones in the hands of people all over the world—nearly four billion of these phones are in developing countries. With the use of basic cell phones, we’ve enabled farmers in Uganda to get information so they can get the best prices for their goods and helped borrowers in Kenya quickly and easily repay their microloans.
The cycle of poverty will end when the poor have access to the very things that we take for granted: a little seed money, practical information, and business opportunities. When you vote for Grameen Foundation, you’ll help us increase access to these three basic tools for the poor worldwide.
When it comes to the fight against poverty, no action is too small. And if we all begin by taking just a single action, a single step, it will propel our world miles closer to making poverty a thing of the past.
