Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

by Muhammad Yunus

Here is a typical Grameen bank worker, a composite of the 12,000 workers we now employ, and a typical day’s work: 1. Name: Akhtar Hossain 2. Age: 27 3. Monthly salary (1995): 2,200 taka ($66), including housing allowance, medical subsidy, and commuting allowance 4. Bonus: One month’s salary paid during each of the two Eid holidays • 6 A.M. Akhtar wakes up, washes, prays, eats breakfast. • 7 A.M. Akhtar fetches his bicycle, documents, and carrying bag from the branch and pedals to a center. • 7:30 A.M. Forty bank borrowers await Akhtar at the center. They are seated in eight rows, organized according to group. Each group chairperson holds the passbooks of the five group members. Akhtar collects the loan repayments and deposits from each group. • 9:30 A.M. Akhtar bicycles to another center for his second meeting. During the course of the week, he attends to ten different centers, meeting with all 400 borrowers he is responsible for and collecting repayments for general loans, seasonal loans, and housing loans, as well as savings deposits. • 11 A.M. Akhtar visits borrowers at home and offers advice. This is an important way to keep track of his borrowers’ needs and problems. • Noon. Back at the branch office, Akhtar fills out all the reporting forms and enters all the records in his ledger. The branch manager signs off. • 1:30—2:00 P.M. Akhtar takes a lunch break with his fellow workers. • 2 P.M. Funds collected in the morning are disbursed as new loans in the afternoon. All ...