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Grameen- The power of local insight
For my Game1 submission, I wanted to bring up Grameen as an example of how local insight can make all the difference.
From the beginning, the Grameen Bank, and more specifically the founder Muhammad Yunus, defied the expectations of a banking system that did not understand life in the Bangladeshi countryside. Horrified by the suffering of the poor and their inability to move out of poverty for want of fair credit, Dr. Yunus started the Grameen Bank to loan small amounts to the rural poor. His knowledge of the communities he worked in allowed the bank to create the social and monetary systems they needed to not only create a successful bank, but to obtain repayment rates in excess of the more traditional, mainstream Bangladeshi banks.
This insight into the local communities also paid off enormously for Grameen when it expanded into the telecom business. Many people argued that the poor had no need for telecom services, which Grameen was offering in the form of cell phones. However, taking their understanding of the local economics and realities, Grameen produced a model for widespread adoption of cell phones that not only resulted in millions of people now having access to a cell phone across the country, but to thousands of people making a livelihood off the technology.
That's my two cents, let me know what you all think!
From the beginning, the Grameen Bank, and more specifically the founder Muhammad Yunus, defied the expectations of a banking system that did not understand life in the Bangladeshi countryside. Horrified by the suffering of the poor and their inability to move out of poverty for want of fair credit, Dr. Yunus started the Grameen Bank to loan small amounts to the rural poor. His knowledge of the communities he worked in allowed the bank to create the social and monetary systems they needed to not only create a successful bank, but to obtain repayment rates in excess of the more traditional, mainstream Bangladeshi banks.
This insight into the local communities also paid off enormously for Grameen when it expanded into the telecom business. Many people argued that the poor had no need for telecom services, which Grameen was offering in the form of cell phones. However, taking their understanding of the local economics and realities, Grameen produced a model for widespread adoption of cell phones that not only resulted in millions of people now having access to a cell phone across the country, but to thousands of people making a livelihood off the technology.
That's my two cents, let me know what you all think!
Views: 27
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Comment by Amanda Jeffrey on March 5, 2010 at 11:42pm
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That is indeed a perfect example of the power of local insight. 'Old' systems like banks and large corporations like telecoms have usually evolved to deal with a very particular kind of customer, usually in their home culture (and frequently that's the West) - so anyone who can cater their business to better serve other cultures is on to a winner!
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Comment by Justin Yang on March 6, 2010 at 3:51am
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This is great! I once represented Bangladesh at a mock Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and this was what the Bangladeshi High Comissioner touted above all else.
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Comment by Clinton Callahan on March 6, 2010 at 7:32pm
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Think about this possibility:
Wealth is not about money. Wealth is people giving to each other. What can you create with human collaboration alone?
I got this idea from Malidoma Patrice Somé.
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Comment by David Perner on March 6, 2010 at 8:00pm
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@Clinton- That's a good point, wealth is a lot more than just income. I've even heard the phrase "poverty of wealth" used to describe those whose monetary wealth has isolated them from others and created a social type of poverty. I think that human collaboration, among other things, can create the community that makes life vibrant and meaningful.
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Comment by NANGAR SOOMRO on March 8, 2010 at 9:21am
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This was also the vision of Dr. Muhammad Younis to see unconventional banking system growing, social banking for the poor.
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