Grameen Foundation : What we do : Technology Programs
Technology Programs
Why Focus on Technology?
Technology increases the efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs), eventually resulting in lower interest rates to borrowers and new loan programs that attract additional clients and expand opportunities for the MFI and the borrower to become self sufficient. We are transforming the microfinance sector through innovations and collaborations that improve the delivery of financial services to the poor and integrate microfinance with the global financial system.
Information and communication technology (ICT) provides unparalleled opportunities to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. It can create jobs, improve access to health care, education and other services, and connect far-flung communities to each other which can boost local economies. However, without a conscious effort to develop and champion breakthrough applications of ICT to reduce global poverty, its potential can go unrealized.
The Grameen Technology Center, an initiative of Grameen Foundation, was inspired by some of the early successes of technology-oriented Grameen companies in Bangladesh that were established by Professor Muhammad Yunus. The Center leverages the power of microfinance and technology to create innovative and sustainable solutions that will enable MFIs to empower their clients to escape poverty more rapidly. It focuses on technology that:
- makes microfinance operations more efficient
- creates income-generating opportunities for the rural poor
- provides poor communities access to information and resources
"An individual poor person is an isolated island by himself and herself. IT can end that isolation overnight."
Professor Muhammad YunusInformation and communication technologies have a real impact on social development and are continuously advancing. Grameen Foundation is making a significant impact on communities around the world by channeling and adapting technologies developed by the private sector and putting them to work for the microfinance movement. We invite you to explore these pages to learn more about Grameen Technology Center’s technology focus, advisory council and partnerships, and how our products and projects are changing lives around the world:
- Our Mifos initiative is building microfinance software that will improve MFI efficiency and serve as a universal platform for further innovation.
- Village Phone uses microfinance to bring much-needed telecommunications to the world's rural poor.
- Village Phone Direct is a micro franchise approach to Village Phone that allows microfinance institutions to directly and independently develop a Village Phone Product for their clients.
- Application Laboratory seeks to expand the power of existing technologies to serve the poor.
- Our Partner Technology Support team provides a full range of technical assistance, consulting, assessment and advising services for our MFI partners' Management Information System (MIS) needs. The Partner Technology team has also produced an MIS Toolkit to help guide MFIs worldwide in their information systems projects.
Grameen Foundation : What we do : Technology Programs
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
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