Launching inyour

community.

About Grameen America

Grameen America is a microfinance organization committed to alleviating poverty and creating jobs in communities across the country by making capital available to micro-entrepreneurs living below the poverty line.

Founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America is built upon the success of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. The success earned both Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank the Nobel Pease Prize in 2006.

Yunus’ current mission is to bring microfinance to the United States, where in light of the current financial crisis, the need for basic community banking to families is paramount.

Like Grameen Bank, Grameen America:

>Is not a charity; instead encourages self-empowerment and entrepreneurship as a means of eliminating poverty.

>Believes that access to credit is a basic human right.

>Brings people out of poverty by providing access to capital at an affordable interest rate, allowing them to then start their own businesses.

Baked Goods & Cooking-Related

Sales14%

Beauty & Health Products

23%

Gift Baskets, Flowers & Home

Products5%

Clothing, Jewelery and Accessories

31%

Other Services12%

Hair Stylists & Salon Accessories

15%

Borrowers who form groups of five and complete our training and savings program will be offered a low-cost ‘Basic Loan’ of approximately $2,000 to invest in income generating activities. Grameen America’s ongoing lending program includes weekly business and financial management training, a path to a credit score, a savings account and a debit card.

Our Borrowers

Borrower businesses typically include a range of small scale enterprises and home-based businesses.

By opening a branch in your community, you help provide low-cost financial services to small-scale entrepreneurs, their families, and their communities.

BUSINESS BREAKDOWN

The Grameen America Brand

Grameen is passionate about the great potential of social business and has a winning brand, formula, and process to help you bring the social business model to your community.

Grameen has a winning business model

The Business Model

A social business is one that makes money– focusing on operational efficiency and profits, but not for the outsized returns to financial investors.

Instead, outsized returns will be reinvested into the business to expand the reach of the local Grameen business operation.

In a social business, a financial investor can get their capital back over time, but at below market returns.

The Brand

Grameen is a Nobel Peace Prize winning organization, an has access to 30 years of experience at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and 27,000 experts in microfinance and community bankers.

Grameen has a network of operations in countries around the world, now including the United States.

Since launching in January 2008, the Queens branch has:

How to bring Grameen to your Community

>Reached 1000 borrowers living below the poverty line>Lent out more than $2 million>Collected over $1,000,000 in repayments>Built an outstanding loan portfolio of approximately $950,000>Maintained exceptionally strong payments

Grameen America expects similar progress in new communitiesWith the success of our first branch in Jackson Heights, Queens we have found overwhelming demand to start up Grameen organizations in communities across America.

Every community in the world wants and can benefit from a Grameen branch office to provide high-quality, low-cost financial services.

However, a Grameen branch is a serious business that requires professional financial, legal, regulatory and management talent to be successful. That is why Grameen is determined to work with you through every stage of the process.

Your Commitment

Your Commitment

While start-up costs will vary from location to location, it will usually take $6 million over a 5 year period for a branch office to serve the community and work towards sustainability.

The fastest and most efficient way of opening a Grameen branch office is for a single individual, foundation, company or entity to commit to $6 million over 5 years on mutually agreeable terms.

Alternatively, sometimes the financial supports needs to be built from the bottom up through local community organizations that may be interested in sponsoring a Grameen business.

Though the bottoms-up approach generally takes longer and requires more local organizing, a few key donors can provide the necessary momentum.

Grameen must prioritize its efforts among many competing communities. Grameen will commit its senior management to open up operations once a financial commitment of $6 million is reached.

Once the initial capital is raised, Grameen America is committed to staff and manage your community’s Grameen America branch.

Grameen’s Commitment

>ManagementGrameen America will staff the new branch with an experienced Grameen Bank professional who will recruit local staff and assist in building the micro-lending operations.With the support and direction of Grameen Trust in Bangladesh, Grameen America executives will manage the branch’s opening and growth strategy. In each location, Grameen America intends to form a partnership with a local bank to provide financial services (such as no-fee borrowers’ savings accounts and ATM cards)

Additionally, Grameen America works with local communities to:1. Determine the optimal location for our microfinance operations.

2. Analyze local demographics with the help of our partner specializing in demographic mapping analytics (ESRI)

3. Provide your community’s key supporters with indicative projections and operations details for a new branch in your community.

>Senior Advisor

A community interested in launching a Grameen America branch will be supported by a local Grameen America Senior Advisor who serves as an extension of the management team in New York.In each branch location, Grameen America will collaborate with local supporters to form a local Advisory Board. The Senior Advisor will be a key member of the Advisory Board a will facilitate initial fundraising.The Senior Advisor role could be filled by a significant donor or a connector in a particular community. Senior Advisors will be based in the local community; the role is a volunteer position

Steps to Starting Grameen Operations

Grameen has standardized and simplified all the steps, documents and the units as much as possible for your community to open operations as quickly as possible.

1. Secure financial commitment either through unilateral sponsorship or a grassroots, bottoms-up support

2. Forging partnerships with universities and recruiting student volunteersGraduate schools are in many communities, and students can help identify local supporters and generate publicity and other support locally Graduate students can also lead the research and feasibility study in collaboration with Grameen management and Grameen’s sample launch plans

3. Recruit a local advisory boardWe will work with you to identify and recruit local business and community leaders to financially support and advise the growth of Grameen America in your community

4. Grameen will prioritize your Grameen branch according to your community’s financial support Once financial support is secured, Grameen will staff an experienced microcredit banker to serve as Branch Manager and help build your local team and Grameen America operations

www.grameenamerica.com