The poor always pay back: the Grameen II story

Abstract

This book is an introduction to Grameen II, an improved and flexible version of the classical Grameen model that is currently being used to financially empower the poorest families in more than a hundred countries across the globe through savings and loans. It describes how a flagship institution such as Grameen Bank accomplished a complete and effective overhaul of its system. Poor Always Pay Back demystifies Grameen II to policymakers, practitioners and the larger development community and shows that, through the use of Grameen II, Grameen Bank is addressing the frontier issues in microfinance: open access savings, flexible loan products, self reliance and absence of donor dependency for funds, and product development to cater to the needs of the retirees (Grameen Pension Scheme) and their adult children (Higher Education Loans). Valuable to all those interested in the practical steps taken to alleviate poverty in developing countries, Poor Always Pay Back offers one of the first sound proofs of the saving capability of the poor on a large scale. The success of Grameen Bank and the microcredit movement as a whole has proved the credit worthiness of the poor beyond question. Grameen II shows that the poor, given the opportunity, will save a great deal and will always pay back.