Banking With The Poor is a network of some 20 national policy institutions, commercial banks and NGOs from eight countries in Asia - Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its objective is to link microfinance with the financial system. BWTP pursues this objective through research, advocacy, policy dialogue, information sharing and capacity building.
This site is a library, journal and think tank rolled into one. It contains practical ideas, guides, strategies, courses and methodologies; success stories, in the form of case studies, comparisons, inspiring ideas, and best practices; articles and resources, in the form of organisational and operational information on current policies, programmes, projects and other initiatives.
The Grameen Bank Project was born in the village of Jobra, Bangladesh, in 1976. In 1983 it was transformed into a formal bank under a special law passed for its creation. It is owned by the 4.7 million borrowers of the bank - 96 per cent of whom are women. At present these borrowers own 94 per cent of the total equity of the bank, and the remaining 6 percent is owned by the government.
The advanced search facility on this site contains resources on a range of world regions and issues related to microcredit, including credit unions, gender and empowerment, governance, natural disasters, poverty and technology.
The UNCDF works to help eradicate poverty through local development programmes and microfinance operations. Its approach is to invest with the poor, building the capacity and self-reliance of communities by increasing their access to local infrastructure and services. The Fund also works to strengthen these communities' influence over economic and social investments that directly affect their lives and livelihoods.
The WWB network reaches poor women by providing and organizing support to its member organisations, which in turn offer direct services to these women. In practical terms this means creating the possibility for a low income woman to build her business and assets, improve her living conditions, keep her family well-fed and healthy, educate her children, develop respect at home and in her community, and secure a political voice.
The World Bank group's strategy is to increase access to financial services and low-income households by addressing three principal areas: (1) Fundamental frameworks: policy, legal and regulatory; (2) Institution building: best practices that banks and microfinance organisations need to expand and develop sustainable operations, with support for capacity building; and (3) Innovative approaches: leasing, lending and other products to increase access to financial services.