Grameen Trust usually supports microcredit programs in collaboration with local organizations interested in implementing such programs following GBA. However, in special circumstances, GT directly implement the microcredit program without any intermediary organization, following its "Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT)", and "Build, Operate and Own (BOO)" Model. BOTs and BOOs are set up in countries with difficult situations where GT has no partner organizations to support. GT identifies suitable branch locations, recruits staff, and begins microcredit operations in the chosen country. Currently GT has ten (10) BOT and BOO projects in ten (10) countries.
| No | Description | KGMAMF | TGMP | MFPRP | ACRG | Banrural Grameen | AGCP | GAI | HMPGBM | MIG Kerala |
Grameen Carso | Family Bank, Bahrain | TOTAL |
| 1 | Country | Kosovo | Turkey | Zambia | Costa Rica | Guatemala | Indonesia | USA | China | India | Mexico | Bahrain | |
| 2 | Year of Establishment | 2000 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2006 | 2005 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 | - |
| 3 | Members Reached by Projects | 13,578 | 39,665 | 8,018 | 9,056 | 26,682 | 3,085 | 2,870 | 615 | 1,260 | 2035 | 65 | 106,929 |
| 4 | Net Number of Members | 6,176 | 31,532 | 6,181 | 9,056 | 26,682 | 2,329 | 2,865 | 615 | 1,260 | 2035 | 64 | 88,795 |
| 5 | Net Number of Borrowers | 5,940 | 29,967 | 6,089 | 8,487 | 23,783 | 2,329 | 2,667 | 615 | 944 | 1976 | 45 | 82,842 |
| 6 | Numbers of Branches | 4 | 58 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 103 |
| 7 | Total Amount Disbursed (US$) | 61,096,198 | 33,004,447 | 3,178,558 | 4,301,983 | 10,855,748 | 880,017 | 5,802,320 | 479,461 | 108,125 | 477,366 | 184,960 | 120,369,183 |
| 8 | Total Amount Repaid (US$) | 53,155,316 | 23,505,265 | 2,458,145 | 2,977,189 | 6,690,284 | 582,712 | 3,527,157 | 298,728 | 42,081 | 101,495 | 12,087 | 93,350,459 |
| 9 | Amount of Outstanding Loans (US$) | 7,940,882 | 9,499,182 | 720,413 | 1,324,794 | 4,165,464 | 297,305 | 2,275,163 | 180,733 | 66,044 | 375,871 | 172,873 | 27,018,724 |
| 10 | Savings Balance (US$) | 478,573 | 1,092,604 | 463,324 | 205,900 | 677,075 | 47,472 | 351,317 | - | 3,265 | - | 1,417 | 3,320,947 |
| 11 | Rate of Repayment | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% | |
| 12 | Percentage of Women Members | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
In 2007, Grameen Trust launched a microfinance program through Grameen America Inc (GAI) in the United States following its Build-Operate-Manage (BOM) model. Initially GAI will focus on serving the poor and immigrant communities in NYC and then it may expand its operation in Arkansas, California and other States. The office of the GAI has been opened in Jackson Heights in New York City (NYC).
Grameen Trust sent resource persons to implement the microfinance program of GAI on the ground. GAI recruited local staff and trained them on Grameen Bank credit delivery mechanism. The first loan of GAI was disbursed on January 15, 2008. Members have utilized loans for various purposes including candy store, sewing machine, salon accessories, selling jewelry, pocket books and others. To know more about the project please visit http://www.grameenamerica.com
For latest information on the project performance please see the table above.
Hainan Rural Credit Union (HRCU) and Grameen Trust (GT) began discussions in summer 2007 regarding implementing a microfinance program following the Grameen Bank Approach (GBA) in Hainan Province of China. The plan to implement the program was formally announced in December 2007. HRCU committed to fund RMB 30 million for this program.
In April 2008, GT sent two resource persons from Grameen in Hainan. GT resource persons recruited local staff and trained them up on Grameen methodology. They started implementing the project with three local staff.
Hainan Microcredit Project in the Grameen Bank Model (HMPGBM), as the program is known, disbursed its first loans on June 03, 2008, to 10 members of Shima village. The loan disbursement ceremony was held at the HRCU office. Each of the 10 borrowers received RMB 2,000, which they plan to use on pig fattening, poultry and grocery business.
In December 2008, HMPGBM has opened its second branch in Tunchang County and the first loan size was increased upto RMB 4,000.
Asociacion Costa Rica Grameen (ACRG ) was launched in December 2005 and started its operation in Costa Rica under BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model of Grameen Trust. GT has received financial support from Whole Planet Foundation USA to implement the microcredit program in Costa Rica. The aim of this project is to reach out to 4500 members over a period of 3 years so as to create a separate microcredit operation with a vision of achieving institutional and financial sustainability. GT sent five Grameen experts to Costa Rica to initiate and continue microcredit program in Costa Rica.
The project is working in Guacimo, Siquirres and Limon in the Limon Province where poverty and population density levels are high. The project has recruited local staff and provided them training. Members have taken loans for poultry, farming, selling of local products like handicrafts, restaurant business, selling homemade foods etc GT is optimistic that the project will be successfully implemented and will meet its goals.
For latest information on the project performance please see table no. 1
Banrural Grameen Microfinanzas was initially known as Association Civil Guatemala Grameen Credit (ACGGC). It was set up in December 2005 as a Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) project of Grameen Trust in order to provide financial services through microcredit for poverty alleviation in Guatemala with financial assistance from the Whole Planet foundation.
During a visit in April 2007, the erstwhile First Lady of Guatemala, Ms. Wendy W.de Berger, proposed a partnership between ACGGC, Creciendo Bien and Banrural which is one of the largest bank’s in Guatemala. This was proposed because it was believed that the project could reach out to more poor people of Guatemala through using Banrural’s extensive network across the country. On November 17, 2007 a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed between Banrural, Whole Planet Foundation, ACGGC and Grameen Trust. The signing ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace on December 11, 2007 in the presence of Professor Muhammad Yunus. Following the agreement Banrural set up a Banrural Grameen Division to implement the Grameen microcredit program nationwide. Mr. Alomgir Hossain, the former Director of ACGGC, has been appointed as the Director of Banrural Grameen Microfinanzas. Four Grameen resource persons of ACGGC have been appointed as trainers and regional managers of the new initiative.
Banrual Grameen Microfinanzas is now referred to as a Joint Collaboration Program. As per the agreement, Banrural will provide financial resources and Grameen Trust will provide technical assistance and manage the operations through the Grameen resource persons on the ground.
GT initiated a directly implemented post-tsunami rehabilitative microfinance project in the Aceh region of Indonesia under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model called `Aceh Grameen Credit Project’ with support from the Grameen Aceh Cooperative. The Grameen Aceh Cooperative was set up at the initiative of Sister Beth del Fierro from Philippines following a visit to Grameen in June 2005. The primary objective of the Cooperative is to support thousands of women in the tsunami affected community and help them find long-term prosperity through microcredit.
GT sent one resource person as the Project Director on July 20, 2006 in order to start the BOT program in Aceh for providing microcredit to the tsunami affected people in 9 villages. The primary objective of the project is to reach 2500 members within the period of three years. The Project Director is actively undertaking the microcredit program including recruitment of staff, training of members and staff, group/member selection, loan disbursement, loan monitoring etc.
The Turkish Grameen Microcredit Project was officially launched in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey on June 11, 2003. Professor Muhammad Yunus, Executive Trustee of Grameen Trust and Professor Aziz Akgul, of the Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction signed an agreement for the implementation of a Grameen Trust build–operate–transfer Microcredit project for the poor communities in urban and rural Diyarbakir. Professor H.I. Latifee, Managing Director of Grameen Trust and Mr. Nusret Miroglu, Governor of Diyarbakir were also present. In March 2003, Professor Aziz Akgul, who is also a member of the Turkish National Assembly, visited Bangladesh with an invitation from the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Grameen to implement a Microcredit project in Turkey. In response, Grameen Trust sent a delegation to Turkey to develop a project plan that was approved for funding by the Turkish Foundation. Afterwards, GT appointed the Project Director and two branch managers for this project from a team of highly experience staff of Grameen, who were sent off to begin the implementation process.
The project launch followed the International Conference on Poverty Reduction through Microcredit, which took place in Istanbul from June 9-10, 2003. Prime Minister Erdogan, who reiterated the commitment of the Turkish Government to poverty alleviation through microcredit in Turkey, inaugurated the conference, which was organized by the Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction in consultation with Grameen Trust. Participants included high-level representatives of the Turkish Government, NGO leaders, bankers, academics, journalists and donor organizations. Microcredit practitioners from the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, Nepal, Bosnia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Kosovo were invited to discuss the experience and impact of Microcredit programs. The conference focused on issues such as:
- Targeting the very poor
- Achieving sustainability
- Options for financing
- Guidelines for regulatory environment of Microcredit programs
The Kosovo Grameen Missione Arcobaleno Microcredit Fund (KGMAMF) is another GT BOT project that was established in June 2000 to aid conflict-affected women in the region. For this project, GT received US$ 4.83 million to establish a microcredit program, to help rebuild the economic activities of the poor in Kosovo. KGMAMF operates through four branches at Peje, Pristina, Gjilan and Prizren regions of Kosovo.
The project saw the successful completion of building up capacity of local staff, after which the majority of the expatriate management team returned to Bangladesh, leaving the operations of branches in the hands of local staff members. Now only two expatriates from the GT team remain there in managerial positions.
GT and UNV had been in negotiations for a few years to create a relationship for combating poverty through microfinance. These negotiation efforts took concrete form in mid-2003, as a follow up to which the Managing Director of GT met with UNV officials in Bonn, Germany, to discuss their future collaboration in Zambia. However, before the project was finalized, a four member technical mission consisting of officials from both GT and UNV visited Zambia from December 7-13, 2003. The purpose of this visit was to assess the situation, nurture the partnership and clarify the role of key partners and cooperative actors before the actual implementation of the project.
Following this joint mission in December 2003, the officials met a number of organizations including UNDP, CIDA, ICAZ, MBT, AMIZ, MPU, the Central Bank, MCDSS, two ministers and the NGO Association in Zambia. The members of the mission also saw various government officials, NGO representatives, microcredit practitioners and poor women from the rural areas and shared with them the global activities of Grameen Trust and the future possibilities of developing microcredit programs in Zambia following the Grameen Bank Approach.
The project was officially launched in 2004 with the goal of reaching 2,400 women suffering from extreme poverty by the end of its third year.