Review of the Grameen Today Pilot Program for Grameen Australia

<p dir="ltr">Commissioned by Grameen Australia and conducted by CSI Swinburne, this research reviews the Grameen Today Pilot Program, a microfinance initiative which provides small business loans, financial training and support to low-income entrepreneurial women who wish to generate income through enterprising activity. This pilot program is the first of its kind in Australia, focused solely on low-income woman, and based on the Grameen Bank model. Developed in the late 1970s by economist, Professor Mohammad Yunus, with its origins in Bangladesh, The Grameen Bank model relies on a peer-group lending approach, high rates of loan recovery, and weekly member meetings to facilitate small group cohesion, offer support to members and encourage active outreach of new members through the group’s existing social networks. The research aims to understand: </p><p dir="ltr">1. The financial, emotional, and social impacts of the Grameen Today Program on the entrepreneurial women who sought and obtained small loans to support their microenterprise.</p><p dir="ltr">2. The lessons emerging from Grameen Australia’s Pilot Program, particularly as regards to the challenges associated with adapting the Grameen Bank Model in a Global North economy.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p>