• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.65-73
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• 2012

Microfinance has been an important tool for the economic growth and poverty alleviation. But the success factors and risk factors have not been synthesized in academic literature. This article has paid attention to success factors and potential risk of the Grameen Bank. Grameen Bank methodology is almost the reverse of the conventional banking methodology. Conventional banking is based on the principle that the more you have, the more you can get. Founder of Grameen Bank, Professor Yunus pointed out that, "The least you have the highest you have the priority to receive a loan". On the basis of theoretical literature, there have been different kinds of success factors of microfinance observed in this paper. Key success factors of Grameen Bank are like these: innovation, strict administrative structure, adaptation and learning practice, incentive system. Complementary services such as business consulting and brokerage will contribute to borrowers' economic performance development.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.931-941
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• 2021

The study focuses on the relationship between SB, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the emerging economy. Thereafter it highlights the types, principles, and funding cycle of SB with the evidence from Grameen Bank, which is a globally well-recognized microfinance venture in Bangladesh established by the Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. This study employs qualitative analysis to illustrate an architectural overview of the SB model by collecting secondary data from various publications related to the topic and published data of Grameen Bank. Finally, this paper illustrates the SB model along with specified characteristics, systematic framework, and main approaches for sustainable context, which could be applied as a conceptual framework for SB in any context of the emerging economy. The findings of this study suggest that the SB model is the workflow having a hierarchy of five phases namely need identification, goal setting, solution-based business plan, business plan assessment, and business plan execution. Analyzing a range of social business interventions in a developing country, Bangladesh, through the lens of five key aspects demonstrates that social business is the most efficient way to sustainably maximize the social benefits and minimize specific social issues poverty of the people affected.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.31-38
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• 2017

Purpose - While microfinance institutions(MFIs) from Bangladesh, such as Grameen Bank, received worldwide recognition and the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, however, there is a paucity of research that provided a comprehensive discussion on the characteristics of the microfinance industry. Hence, the aim of this paper is to discuss some important aspects of the microfinance sector in Bangladesh. Research design, data, and methodology - This study used secondary sources of data, such as annual reports of the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) and the World Bank database in its descriptive analysis. Results - This study found that Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in her socio-economic and economic development in the last few decades. It is also generally perceived that microfinance has placed significant contribution on such socio-economic development. While microfinance observed unprecedented growth domestically, however, the regulatory framework is still rather weak, and a majority of the MFIs are found to be concentrated in the well-off areas (e.g., Dhaka, Chittagong etc.). Conclusions - The findings are significantly important for the parties who are interested to know the microfinance sector in Bangladesh. To some extent, the findings of this study will provide policy implications that may benefit the industry.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.21-31
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• 2016

Although the microfinance sector in Bangladesh is mainly driven by Non-Governmental-Organizations (NGOs), there are other types of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) that also provide financial services to the poor. Despite the criticism of microfinance programs, the current poverty situation in Bangladesh still requires such programs for consistently battling poverty. Hence, the aim of this paper is to profile the microfinance sector based on their legal status and investigate any possible differences (if any) between them in various aspects. After a thorough investigation of the sector, it was found that around 33 million of the clients are being served by the mainstream MFIs (NGO and Grameen Bank) while another 10-15 million clients are served by other types of MFIs (financial cooperatives, credit unions, various ministries etc.), accounting for the one-third of the total population in Bangladesh. While the mainstream MFIs basically works with poor, other categories of MFIs are concerned with relatively wealthy clients. Looking into the financial performance and social intermediation of the MFIs, the NGO-MFIs performed better than other types of MFIs in the sector.