Grameen and Microcredit: A Tale of Corporate Success

Author(s): ANU MUHAMMAD

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 44, No. 35 (AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 4, 2009), pp.
35-42
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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Grameen
and Microcredit:
A Tale of Corporate
Success
ANU MUHAMMAD

The Grameen

Bank's microcredit programme

has been

It is essentially a glorified form of subsistence.1

Women bank workers cannot be as rigid as men workers when

itcomes

to collection of instalments.2
internationally as a successful model. This
model has become an integral part of development
thinking and has earned global attention as a new formAlthough
microcredit (mc), in one formor another, has
been practised in differentparts of theworld fora long
of banking. But ithas been hailed more as an effective
time, the Grameen Bank (gb) institutionalised it and
tool for alleviating poverty and empowering women.
it into the formal,mainstream global financial system.
brought
To find out ifthis iscorrect, gb's publications and
Established in 1976as a project,Grameen Bank emergedas a bank
studies were analysed, itsdeclared objectives were
in 1983. It expanded speedily thereafterinBangladesh and suc

recognised

scrutinised, and international experiments

of

themodelwere also studied.The findingsfrominside

contradict the currentmyth
The model created a good

and outside Bangladesh

around the model.

opportunity forexpanding

the market for finance

as a part of their "poverty

model

great momentum

ceived

ofwomen.

alleviation"

programmes.

It re

the then us president,

after Bill Clinton,

extended his support. By then the global financiersfound the

an effective

model

capital, thereby ensuring gb's spectacular success.

However, itfailed as a tool for poverty alleviation and
empowerment

ceeded in significantlyinfluencingthe thinkingon development

inside and outside the country.Many countries endorsed the

tool to expand

their tentacles.

It is true that the mc mechanism has already gained con

as a mainstream

fidence
declared

window

mc

objective,

has

But that was

of finance.
been

always

as an

placed

not

its

"alterna

tive" to the dominant development paradigm for alleviating

behind

argument
lished.

This

as well

this

article

extent

and

as a tool to alleviate

Its effectiveness

poverty.

"alternative",
an attempt

makes

to examine

its claim

about

and mc

poverty

well

estab

the nature
enterprises

reduction

and

of women.

empowerment

NGOs: Growth, Polarisation

The World

been

to understand
of gb

success

of the corporate

as

the main

pqverty,

not

has

Bank

et al, started

and Retreat
on poverty

focusing

alleviation

pro

grammes since the early 1970swhen risingpovertyand inequality,

resulting from the trickle down modernisation process in the
peripheralworld,were creatingwidespread discontent.The growth
of non-governmental
since

then. Bangladesh
have

pearedto
breeding

ground

Starting

from

1970s,

organisations

a phenomenon

has become

ap-

become

for NGOS.
the

the number

early
of for-

Brought forward
(UptoJune 1990)

Economics,

(anujuniv@gmail.com)

Jahangirnagar

Economic& Politicalweekly

iswith

University, Dhaka,
EQS3

august

the Department

of

Bangladesh.

29, 2009

by

three

nearly

times,

and

five times

in the next

10 years.

by

further

work

293_89_382

l9?^1_91_

_
^5_r.
1995-96
five-?
1999-2000
, -~~-?
the number mcreased

years

in development

Table 1:ngo Expansion (1990-91to2006-07)

Period
ofNGOs_
_Number
Foreign Total
(Juiy.june)_local

eign-fundedNGOsreached .
Qn
382 in 1990. Within

Arm Muhammad

(ngos)

2005_0~

_
887

134

1,021

1,354

164

1,518

l8"46

2006_07_1,959
Source:NGOAffairs
Bureau,2C07.

vol xliv no 35 35

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

193

2,039

197

2,156

During the same period, alongwith quantitative multiplica

ngo sector showed a fundamental shift
tion, the foreign-funded
within itsown body dynamics. In thebeginning, thengos started
working with a clear commitment to address social issues like
inequality,healthcare,mobilising the poor to stand against ex

most

and

deprivation

ploitation,

of them

retreated

the dominant

from

on mc operations.

trated mainly

structure.

power

initial

the

the same period,

During

Later

more

work.

than 80%

of their resources,

of the ngos

Most

this polarisation

Moreover,

tion of a few ngos.

took place

Grameen

and

alongwith

the Bangladesh

the corporatisa
Rural

Advance

ment Committee (brac) went global and signed joint ventures

with multinationals and theWorld Bank, gradually turningintoa
new

form of "group

of companies".

This

a new

is certainly

phe

nomenon not only in the ngo sector but also in the corporate
world. A new formof private ownership also emerged from the
ngo

leadership.

For policymakers,
from home and abroad,
the ngo model
comes an obvious
or reduction,
choice for poverty alleviation

be
be

cause itmakes itconvenient to avoid dealing with the structural

causes of poverty.Global agencies who representglobal capital
ism, started pushing peripheral countries to implement their

agendas of accepting theWashington Consensus since the early

1980s.

the same period,

During

ngos

were

made

an

part

integral

ofmajor policymaking processes, and also resource and service

delivery system of the peripheral state, as a conditionality of
"aid"

from "donor"

typical ngo
more

countries

a non-state

and agencies.

Therefore,

a non-governmental

is certainly

although

it is no

organisation,

With the retreat from its earlier promises the ngo model
soon developed itspartnershipwith the dominant formof the
"trickle

down"

and

process

borrowers

"laissez-faire

It is also

approach".

possible to finda ngo model that is a tool for the privatisation

process (Lewis 1994;Osmany 1989).
During the 1980s and 1990smc programmes expanded rapidly
in Bangladesh. This was the same period when (i) structural

and 85.66%
Association

and

the main

became

liberalisation,

spirit behind

FY2006FY2007
__FJ2005_
1
128.9 158.4
JDisbu rsement_91.0
_ 45.9 50.2
_ (') Grameen Bank_31.5_
A
36.9 52.7
(ii) BRAC_29
(iii)ASA_29.7_
43.0__523

ofmc forfourof the larg

est mc agencies.

According to the gb
web site (updated on
January2009) ithas 2,535
branches

and

"83,343

villages".
amount

total

of

disbursed,

_ (iii)ASA_24.2_37'A_47J
_ (vi) Proshika_
_2.8_

loans
incep

3 Outstanding loans_

tion, is Tk 407.68 billion

($7.43 billion). Out of
this, Tk 365.39 billion

loans

current

The
of
stands

outstanding
at Tk 42.29

billion ($617.25million).
The
loan

from

evolved

as "safety net" programmes

of the "reforms" or "restructuring",

victims

(iv) "Land

to rescue

reform", lost

itsplace in the development agenda, and (v) Overall ngo acti

vities expanded and were glorifiedas povertyalleviation tools.
Microcredit and Corporatisation
"A strong

semiformal

ngo

of GB Projects

microfinance

system

has

in

emerged

the countryduring the 1980s theGrameen Bank and hundreds of

nco-mfis

in rural areas,

operate

increasingly,

urban

small towns, semi-urban

as well,

neighbourhoods

areas,

gb project was

and

trans

formed intogb by a separate ordinance in 1983", theBangladesh

Bank

governor

programmes

pointed

out.4

of gb, and more

The

combined

than a thousand

coverage

of mc

non-government

a number

ferent companies
up with

Grameeen's

tive. According

3.5

3.5

80.6

10O8

1.5_1.6
4.1

3.6

2.2

2.4

(iii)ASA_

0.6_0.9_1J_
32.0
31.3_
_27.8
(vi)_Proshika_
NGOsquoted
Source:GrameenBankand respective
inBB (2007).

set

blueprint,

to the gb,

5.2

(i) Grameen Bank_0.9

(ii) BRAC_108_43_^8

of dif

were

62.6

(iii)ASA_0J_0.2_03

to 8 Octo

7 November

59.4

Jvi) Proshika_1.0_
5 Overdue as percentage
of outstanding

average

monthly
disbursement

_161_7
48.0

(i) Grameen Bank_235

31.7_33^8
32.0
_(ii)_BRAC_16.6_20.9
(iii)AS
A_15.7_237
J>8.0
(vi) Proshika
3.6_4.8_5.0
4 Loans overdue
3.3
3.6
_3J
Grameen
Ji)
Bank_0.2_0.7_0^8
(ii) BRAC_1.8_
_09_0.9

($6.63 billion) has been

repaid.

3.2

Recovery_78.6_116/l_
Grameen
Bank_25.8_37.7
(ii) BRAC_25.8_37.5

It has

since

(vi) Proshika_27_3.1

in

works

total staffof 24,325. The

network,

economic policies, (ii) Export-oriented garments industryand

service sectorhad a high rate of growthwhile oldmanufacturing
units experienced negative growth or closure, (iii) Differentpoor
targeted programmes

at the end of

20.26 million

Table 2:MicrocreditOperations of theGrameen

Bank and Large NGOs (Amountinbilliontaka)

ber was Tk 4.99 billion

($72.83million).
Inaddition to thishuge
i
of
e,
institutions,
adjustment programmes,
dismantling public

privatisation,

were

active. Out ofwhich

70.36% of total
of active borrowers were with the big four

Table 2 shows the in

crease and distribution

amount

(nso).

organisation

projects

for Social Advancement

(asa) and Proshika.
And there are only 10 ngos who have more than 50,000 borrowers, 40
more have between 10,000 and 50,000. The rest, the overwhelming
majority of the ngo-mfis are small, having less than 10,000 members.

for the role of subcontractors.

settled

14.30 million were

2004, ofwhich
gb, brac,

and net

workforce

of government-financed

the number of borrower members

the ngo

sectorbecame highlypolarised.3 Very fewngos includingthegb

controlled

and

Haque (2006: 71), also noted that,

concen

and

promises

institutions"

"microflnance

encompassed approximately 15million households. According

to the Bangladesh Bank, taking into consideration problems of
overlapping ,which is about 33%, the effectivecoveragewould
be around 10million households (bb 2006: 38).

connections

goodwill,
are all

"these

and

initia

companies,

independent

registeredunder Companies Act of Bangladesh, with obligation

to pay all taxes and duties, just like any other company in the
country".

The

Telecom,

(3) Grameen

are:

companies

(1) Grameen

(2) Grameen

Phone,
(4) Grameen

Communications,

Cybernet,

(5) Grameen Solutions, (6) Grameen it Park, (7) Grameen

Information
Highways, (8) Grameen Star Education, (9) Grameen
Bitek, (10)Grameen Uddog (Enterprise),(11)Grameen Shamogree
(Products),

(12)

Grameen

Grameen Textile Mills,

(15)

Grameen

Capital

(13)

Knitwear,

Gonoshasthaya

(14) Grameen Shikkha (Education),

Management,

(16) Grameen

Byabosa

Bikash (Business Promotion), (17)Grameen Trust, (18)Grameen

Health

Care

(20) Grameen
36 august

Trust,
Danone
29, 2009

(19)
Food,

Grameen
and

vol xliv no 35

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Health

(21) Grameen
DEES

Care

Service,

Veolia Water.
Economic& Politicalweekly

Grameen Phone (gp) isnow the largestmobile company in the

a Norwegian
tele
is a joint venture with Telenore,
gp started its operations
In the beginning,
through the

and

country
company.5

mc network.

Grameen

loans

received

borrowers

3,48,733

Initially

fromgb to buy gp mobile phones and thatplayed an important

role

in creating

also

received

resources

and

for gp and

the foundation
and

financial

also

infrastructural

It

its expansion.
from public

support

With theNorwegian companyholding a majority share (62%),

gp has now become thehighest revenue earning company in the
country.AlthoughMuhammad Yunus is the chairman ofboth gb
and are therefore,

are not the owners

and gp, gb or its borrowers

not supposed to get any direct benefits from itsunprecedented

scale

Grameen

of business.

Danone

Food

Grameen

and

Veolia

Water have also been formed as joint initiativeswith global

companies, established and popularised in thename of thepoor
and

the grameen

through

by Grameen

owned

and

too

these

Again,

are

not

to "spin off some projects

funds

are

loans

or guarantees

by the Grameen

created

companies

led by Muhammad

as "separate

Yunus,
gb

within

funded

to the Grameen

transferred

to different

Motsho

legal

entities",

by donors".

"Donor"

gb

provides

Fund.

The

in its fold. These

companies

over, gb provided
the financial

loans

receiving
These

organisations.

More

15 million.

in favour of the following

guarantees

they were

tions while

Tk

Foundation:

(Fisheries)

organisa
and

from the government

are

guarantees

still in effect.

Grameen Shakti: Tk 9 million, Grameen Motsho (Fisheries)

Foundation: Tk 8million (gb 2009).
Globalisation

ofMicrocredit

and 'Commercialisation'
over

dominant

in speculation

investment

years,

vestment

in other

sectors.

the centre

became

sectors.

the production

of global

In the last few

faster than

much

multiplied

Banks,

in

share markets,

insurances,

investment.

Financial

capital,

all
as a

whole, took the lead in global capitalism. The unprecedented

growth of 'moneyformoney' activities helped many of the rich
to become

richer at a rate that is unprecedented

in history. These

activitiesmay not bring good forthemajority because theyhave

fraudulent

elements

Some

many.

countries,

and

of this became

including

create

often
visible

Argentina,

and

disastrous

in the recent
in east Asia.

affects
past

Other

for

in many
countries,

including the us, had the heat of it.The force of uncertainty

and collapsing experiences prompted James Tobin, a leading
economist

of the us,

investments

and

to ask

transfer

of money.

on

taxes

for imposing

save

state

control

over

the guru

Soros,

George

uncontrolled

of

money

movement,

to

capitalism.

Since

Iwrote

along

these

lines

three years

ago

(Muhammad

2006), the global uncertaintyturned intoglobal turmoil.The once

financial
super profit-making
and creates an unprecedented
Economic& Politicalweekly

EQ23

sector now
disaster
august

exposes

its total fragility

for the whole

29, 2009

of

is dominant.

too underwent

changes.

revolutionary

the same

During

period,

as a response

as higher

well

return

on

to over-accumulation

as

of capital

investment.

speculative

By taking

ad

vantage of technological progress and unregulatedmovement of

new

capital,

investment

forms of speculative

emerged.

But the growth of capitalism, nevertheless, could not solve

the basic contradiction of capitalism, and majority of theworld
continues

population

to remain

the market

outside

creating

deep tensionwithin the system itself.Safety net programmes

were evolved to solve thisbutwith littlesuccess,mc in thisphase
as a godsend,

appeared

a way

to get a vast virgin

out for capital

capitalist

activities.

their market-oriented

by increasing

Microcredit: A New Way Out

In 1995, theWorld Bank opened a new window on mc. In 1996
thewb made recommendations regardingngos (in Bangladesh)
and mc.

It categorically

stated:

Integrate ngos with commercial finance markets by: (a) developing an

appropriate regulatory framework for the financial operations of the
ngo sector; (b) encouraging
large ngos to establish themselves as
banks; (c) encouraging
'wholesaling' of credit to established ngos;
and (d) using smaller ngos as brokers to mobilise
self-help savings
groups
This

(wb 1996).
of ngo

shift, the commercialisation

programmes,

there

fore,had the blessings of the global capitalist centre and was a

to the inner necessity
mc

international
ence,

the wb,

summit was

of finance
held

Inter-American

usaid,

In 1997 the first

capital.

In the confer

inWashington.

Bank,

Development

the

undp and Citibank among others announced their special fund

formc. In the lastdecade, not only did thegb model startspread
ing in other
ing mc

countries,

mainstream

banks

also

started

introduc

in their operations.

In 1998, on the eve of the tripartite

meeting onmicroflnance in
unctad

Lyon, France,

The mc phenomenon

pointed

out that,

the existence of a huge potential

an estimated 500 million
market, profitable yet largely untapped:
micro entrepreneurs
and their families, until now largely excluded
has revealed

from a financial

system... These 500 million micro-enterprises

rep
resent a potential credit market of $100 billion and an even larger
market for savings and insurance.
...Institutions such as Bancosol
in
Bolivia

and k Rep

in Kenya boast better profitability rates than some

initiated about 20
biggest and best bank. A movement
is becoming an industry, making
itsway
years ago... micro-finance
into themainstream
financial system (Chowdhury 2007: 30-31).
of the world's

speculative

speculation and financial investments,asked global leaders to

extend

nature

the disastrous

capital

on the other hand, global capitalism experienced increasing

response

In the latestphase of global capitalism, the financial sectorhas

become

reveals

growth
speculative

In the last few decades, finance capital became globalised in

the process of capitalist expansion; communication technology

the market

establish

companies have the followingloan liabilitytogb: Grameen Fund:

Tk 373.2 million, Grameen Krishi Foundation: Tk 19million,
Grameen

where

market aswell as to create a linkbetween a huge population and

borrowers.

are other

There
ment

network.

and market

late capitalism

financialisation

very fast.

thus expanded

foundation. The neoliberal model based on theWashington

Consensus

Muhammad Yunus, therefore,deserves the highest credit for

formalisingand popularising mc, once marginalised but defi
nitelya high potential formof the "finance industry".
In 2005,
Microcredit".

the un

named

In the

same

the year
year,

as

the "International

Citibank

opened

Year

of

"Citi Micro

finance" initiallybased inLondon,New York, India and Colombia.

vol xliv no 35 37

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The secondmc summitheld in 2006 assembled many big corpo

also

rate companies.

investors'

were

group

crofinance

worldwide
Yunus

total

was

awarded

100 million

and

The

Citi

mi

in devel

people

2008).

The studyobserved,

same year

Prize.

Barclays launchedGhanaian Microfinance, tapping intoone of

Africa's most

ancient

International

Finance

a "$45m

nounced

the "Susu

forms of banking,
Corporation,

The
an

Bank,

notes

in credit-linked

investment

collection".

a part of the World

to be

issued

via Standard Chartered bank to facilitatemicrofinance lending in

J P Morgan

In 2007,

and Asia.

Africa

unit as part of its emerging

The Financial

markets

in a recent

Times

of mc

"commercialisation"

and

a microfinance

launched

on

report focused

of mc

evolution

2008).

(Harford

strategy"
investigative

to microfinance.

The investigationrevealed that, "The Citigroups of theworld are

not theonly commercialplayers to get involved inwhat was once
a purely philanthropic endeavour. Sequoia Capital, the venture
capital fund thatbacked Google, Apple and Cisco, has taken an
$nm stake in S K S Microfinance, a large Indian lender.Private
equitygroups such as Helios Capital aremaking similarmoves".
It also
have

instances

gave

been

of many

to profitable

from charities

"transformed

institutions

microfinance

that

companies

throughhugely successful initialpublic offerings".It calledMexi

co's Compartamos

("Let's

the most

Share"),

that used

notorious,

a $6m investmentto turn itself intoa billion-dollar company in

less than a decade, expanding rapidlywhile chargingvery high
rates to borrowers

and

is now

ticmovement

"what was

in the process,

a fast-growing

once

industry, and one

an

idealis

that is rap

"Compartamos

but after a decade

with

investors

was

converted

itself into a profit-making

Accion

is

part-funded by the United States Agency for International

(usaid)

Development

and

the

International

Finance

of about

$6m,

between

1998

and

2000,

were

rates."

more

that estimated
than

100%

apr

that Compartamos
(or annual

"charged

percentage

interest rates of

rate),

after tax".

In

South Africa ZaFinCo, established only in 2004, became a good

profitablebusiness by "charging 11.75% per month on a four
month

loan,

or 200%

apr,

much

more

assistants

than Compartamos

was

generallyjudged tohave been charging" (Harford2008).

Bateman (2008) found a different scenario of mc in Serbia

while

Not the Same

Country Experiences:
The multiplication of the gb model or "cloningGrameen bank"
(Todd 1996) shows itswider acceptance by differentcountries
varied

forms of government

and

socio-economic

there as a consultant.

he worked

He

said,

the foreign-owned commercial banks since 2001 have massively dis

From almost zero in 2001, the commercial
covered microflnance.
banks now channel 22% of their total loan portfolio through highly
(household microloans)
programmes amount
profitable microfinance
ing to almost 12% of gross domestic product... so the country is now
chock-full of traders, kiosks, shops, street-traders and subsistence
farms. The base of the economy

is quite simply being destroyed.

This disproportionategrowth of the service sector is also taking

in Bangladesh.6
also

(2008)

Bosnia.

discussed

He

"the situa

argued,

economy,

it the

call

for post-conflict

'test-bed'

community's
locals

Many

'Africanisation'

microfinance.
of their

(Africanizacija)

into unsustainability."

descent

its planned

meaning

Grameen

Bank

gb claims

that its loan recovery

priorities.

The spread of mc institutionswithin and outside Bangladesh

Claim
rate is 98.24%.

Ever

it came

since

intobeing, ithas made profitsevery year except in 1983, 1991,

and

1992.1

bank

have

since

However,
as a bank,

successes

other

as a

house.

the gb and

sise their activities

itsmany

discussed

already

and a corporate

as tools

peer

of poverty

of huge

accumulation

like to empha

organisations

mere

alleviation,

capital

and

playing

success

an

instru

mental role in opening new profit-makingbig corporate houses

should not be considered as sufficientconditions to establish
the claim.
women

with

(pp 76-81).

worth

It referredto a reportfrom theConsultativeGroup toAssist the

microfinance thinktankhoused by theWorld
Poor,an independent
Bank,

women
it now plays a powerful role in develop
areas of health, family
in the social welfare
particularly
as field
planning and mother and child care. ...cadres were chosen
ship of ii million

ment,

initial Microcredit and Poverty

about $i.5bn at the time of the public offering in 2007. That

valuation was justifiedby a combination of fastgrowth and high
interest

by theWomen's Union was seen simply as a method that the

existing political structure could adopt to reduce rural poverty....
The women's union, which was founded in 1930, is themass organi
sation formobilising women
throughout Vietnam... With a member

mented

Corpora

tion,which is thewb's private sector lending arm.The

investments

the rural
that reaches
entirely foreign in Vietnam...Everything
through the people's committees and their closely
people ismediated
The credit programme as itwas imple
related mass organisation...

donor

company,
which

International,

model

tion is evenworse inBosnia which is servingas the international

as a non-profit,

including

at least implicitly, an
presupposes,
which
dominates opportu
class
landlord-moneylender
Bank

exploitative
land
nity and the political structure in the rural village. InVietnam,
the landlord class....The
idea of using an ngo to
reform eliminated
structure and reach the poor directly is
sidestep the government

Bateman
in 1990

founded

Grameen

The

place

idlylosing its innocence" (Harford2008).

It added,

perspective.

of Vietnam.

institutions

The

reveals economic viability and profitability from the

It is not surprising to finddifferentresults in differentsocio

economic settings. Todd (1996) investigated the experience

Summit

than 3,000

of these

(Harford

Peace

the Nobel

poor

turnover

cash

at $2.sbn"

is estimated

summit.

that "there are more

serving

The

that Monsanto

of this

sponsors

estimated

institutions

countries.

oping

the

among
Report

Campaign

to note

It is important

Therefore,

we

empowerment

need
and

to look at its impact upon

its operations

regarding

poverty,

borrowers.

Letme firstlook at the declared objectives of gb and its internal

study findings.
Lamia

Karim

gb's documents

(2008)

summarises

as follows:

the declared

"according

to Professor

objectives
Yunus,

from
the gb

model ofmc isnot solely amatter of the extension of credit, ithas

3&august

29, 2009

vol xliv no 35

This content downloaded from 119.148.3.126 on Fri, 6 Feb 2015 00:42:34 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

GCC3 Economic& Politicalweekly

_:i3=ZZZ:-:E=^EEiEE:E^

7=

SPECIAL

ARTICLE

a unique setof social objectives that itaims to implementthrough

while 17% have studied up to class v and another 21%

illiterate,

mc policies. These are:

It promotes
credit as a human
right.
It is aimed towards the poor, particularly
poor women.
It is based on "trust", not on legal procedures
and system.
It is offered to create self-employment,
income-generating

studied

rice, stationery,
ac

to consumption.
tivities and housing
for the poor, as opposed
a
was
as
to
It
conventional
initiated
banking which
challenge

basis of 10 indicators (size of loan, amount of savings, housing condition,

furniture in the house, provision of pure drinking water, sanitation
and warm clothing, education of the children, etc) set by Grameen
to track impact of its programme on the poor families
is still the only country where mc outreach
serves....Bangladesh
75% of the poor families (bb 2006: 49).

that it
is over

line. But

erty
where.

The

of gb.

of Grameen

the same

source

table below

It shows

100%

have

success

trend

from the internal

repayment

is also

else

survey data

score

got the highest

success

the pov

crossed

a different

indicates

is compiled

that, gb's

profit (81.40%),

borrowers

in earning

clearly very high

(74-37%), butwhen it comes to people's lives and the economic

the success

scenario

erty reduction

rate drops

to only 2.26%.

to 13.74%

Table 3: GB Success Claim: Profitand Poverty

Area
of
Success
TotalBranch

100%repayment_

]'87!

_71-37
81.40

2,049

__

1,757

2,517

346"

13.74

57*2.26

(Ahmed

of Grameen

2007),

2,501

were

respondents

In the latest study

a to

received

tal of 3,537 mcs in the loan period duringwhich the surveywas

conducted.

seen

Itwas

from three sources,

68%

used

only one

that 24%

and

took loans

1% from more

source.

The

three

from two sources,

than three
leading

sources.

sources

6%

About

of mc

from

which the respondentsmainly borrowed were gb (34%), asa

(24%) and brac (21%).All other sources account forabout 21% of
the loans
males

and

age group
housewives.

taken. Over
less than

1% males.

of 21-50 years;
The

of the borrowers

99%

and most

majority

Economic& Politicalweekly

Most

GEES

(65%)
august

interviewed

of the borrowers
of them

29, 2009

were

(84%) were

of the respondents

were

two

impor

land and agriculture

next

13%). The

the repayment

on average

"interest

rate based

cost of borrowing"
asa

gb, brac,
from 26.6%

men

three activities

of previous

balance"

loans

(6.4%).

Itwas

to 40.8%

of loan and "rate of

(irab)

for four large organisations,

(recc)

and Proshika.
(gb)

irab

that while

found

the recc

and asa),

(brac

ranges
a

reached

higher range from30.5% (gb) to44.8% (brac and asa).

The studyrevealed thatalthough a largemajority ofborrowers
were

women,

10% could

only
rest had

The

sure about

be

it or hand

to share

over

their control

it over

the

to the husband,

brotheror any othermale member of the family.Other studies

also

have

similar

120 women

"108

for example,

findings,

borrowers

that male

reported

out of

informants

in the house

guardians

hold either sent themor influencedthem to become members of

thegb loan group" (Rahman 1999: 76).
an

Dowry,

amount

to be a curse

for poor

to be

or goods

of money

as a precondition

girl's side to the groom

and women

in general

people

from the

given

for marriage,

is known

in particular.

In contrast to the gb claim, 2,036 (82%) borrowers said that

dowry

pressure

rowers

found

since

increased
the problem

or 60 bor

only 2.4%

enrolment,

had

for 374 cases

while

decreased,

or

as before.

it remained

ment

rate of gb and

fe

in the

primarily
were
also

other mc

look at the repayment

found

how

to borrow

respondents

perspective,
they
to the load. Ahmed
could not repay on

who

10% had

about

few who
how

from moneylenders

money

rates of interest, while

and others

to sell goats

or some

asset.

from other

Findings

there are very

they suffer due

1,189 out of total 2,501

had

agencies,

from the borrowers'

so and

to do

other valuable

those who

about

(each

effective

at high

rate from local bodies,

and other agencies.

processing).

of agricultural

renting

serv

and

goods
next

The

The study also collected data from the villages to calculate

time, 72.3%

Letme discuss some studies done by others to look furtherinto

mc operations

were

reason was

noteworthy

manage

69.80

to be verified.7

needs

some

Althoughwe findplenty of literatureon the successful repay

2,517

on the success

the claim

this claim

therefore

to

SuccessinBranches

All borrowers came above poverty line

2,517
"Verification
by theGBauthorityisyettobe done.
Source:Compilation
and calculationbytheauthorfrom
GB 2009.
be very sure about

for pov

not seem

does

fish, and other ordinary

grocery,
cases with

activities

15.1%,

_2'5!7_

Earned profit
_2,517
No loss _
education forall borrower's children

and

(education)

gb authority

The

class viii.

tionedwere purchase and pulling of rickshaw (9%), using the

creditmoney to defray the costs of education and marriage of
children (8%), and purchase and rearingof cows (7%). Another

loans.

Different Findings
The gb web siterefersto itsrecent internalsurvey (2008) to show
of families

(in some

related

according toGrameen Bank's own internal survey, 56% of itsborrower

families have crossed the poverty line by 2005, judging this on the

Bank

ices

tant categories

rejected thepoor by classifyingthemas "not creditworthy".

- It
provides service on the doorstep of the poor based on the
principle that the people should not go to the bank, the bank
should go to thepeople.
- It
gives high prioritytobuilding social capital.
Muhammad Yunus (2006) claimed that, inBangladesh,

that 65%

class v and

between

The largestnumber of activities undertaken (37%) by thebor

rowerswere found to be related to trading including in paddy,

and

studies

observations

where

Iwas

in

volved in differentyears have not been much different(Econju

1996, 2004,

2007).

These

studies

surveyed

1,489

families

from 15

villages and foundonly 5 to 9% of theborrowerswho could use

mc fortheireconomic improvement,andmany of themhad other
sources of incomeas well. The borrowerswho used theirmoney
forbusiness lendingwith higher interestrates got the highest
returns.
small

The
shops,

borrowers

had

second

best was

rickshaw-van
to take

further

43% could not manage

position

the
or

service

retailing.
loans

sector,
Nearly

from other

like running
50%
sources.

of

the

About

loans frommany sources and their

deteriorated.

Another study carried out jointlyby the Bangladesh Institute

ofDevelopment Studies (bids) and theWorld Bank in 1997 found
that less than 5% borrowers could liftthemselvesout of poverty

vol xliv no 35 39

This content downloaded from 119.148.3.126 on Fri, 6 Feb 2015 00:42:34 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

each year by borrowing from a "microfinance programme"

(Khandker 1998). Itwas later also estimated "that 5% of the
microfinance borrowers actually representonly about 1% of the

Inmany studies, includingmine, it is found that the actual uti

of the loans has not been

lisation
were

in the same

for. For example,

approved

in Pas

areas

Elashin

as those

they

the high

village,

And
"the long history
est number of loanswere approved for rice husking (39%), but
therefore
of microfinance
population".
movement in Bangladesh and the incidence of high aggregate . nobody used themoney for that purpose. The second highest
seems

situation

poverty

to

remind

about

policymakers

the

limitationsofmicrofinance inalleviating poverty" (Rahman and

Khandker

2000).

In another

a resurvey

in the mid-1990s,

study conducted

of 17

villages showed that only 19% respondents informedthat their

conditions had improved,out ofwhich only 5% gave credit for
this

to ngo

improvement

situation

no change

while

that their

informed

24%

intervention,

has deteriorated,

was

in 58%

observed

of the cases (Rahman and Hossain 1995).

These quantitative findingscontradict themyth of thegb and
mc. Still itgives a partial picture of social relations thataffectmc
activities

and

influences

the

shaping

inherently

and

repressive

number

loans were

of approved

in agriculture

the ac

and

(23%),

tual use was 3%. The highest actual use of loan (42%) was in
business includingmoneylending. No loans were approved for
money

19% was

and

lending,

for business.

no

were

There

ap

proved loans forhousehold expenses, but 29% of loanswere used

forfamilynecessities includingdowry, sponsoringmigrantwork
ers and medical

(Rahman

expenses

1999:107).

In another anthropological study,Lamia Karim looked intothe

causes behind this and also the process of loan delivery. She
found

that, "because
officers

money,
rowers

on

of the pressure

loan

the loans. As one borrower's

do with

to recover

officers

to monitor

the time

have

seldom

what

the bor

husband

to me

said

unequal relations,includingpatriarchyin lendingand repayment. with a smile: "We took a cow loan. Fiftypercentwill be spent to
We need to look intoqualitative studies tounderstandmore.
pay offold debts, and another 50% will be invested inmoney
Women's
The

'Public

Empowerment:

mc borrowers

are mostly

other mc agencies.

many

On

and

women

Hidden

not only

Transcripts'
in gb, but also

in

in all these agencies,

the other hand,

on Grameen

field research

ethnographic

in a

to women

lending

If the manager

from the neighbours".

richer

to see our cow, we

The

clients

availability

poorer women

used

can easily

bor

of ngo money

has

the mc market.

to enter

rich clients

many

encouraged
instances,

the officialsaremale. Why is that?Aminur Rahman, throughan

ethnographicfieldresearch inPas Elashin village, tried tounder
stand this.He conducted this study "based on thirteenmonths of

comes

lending.
row one

In many

as proxy members.

That is, the richclientused the loanwhile thepoorwoman joined

thengo as a proxymember inexchange fora fee. Ifthe richclient
defaulted, itwas still the poor proxymember who was held
by the ngo"

accountable

2008).

(Karim

rural communityof Bangladesh" (Rahman 1999). He used the

concepts of "public and hidden transcripts"developed by James Microcredit Defaulters and Coercive Measures
It is true that theborrower ofmc does not have to show any col
Scott8 (Scott 1990), to understand rhetoricand realityof the op
eration of mc in general and gb in particular.
lateral,but s/hehas tobe accountable to the group s/hebelongs.
as collateral.
to the group works
Rahman observed that, in the study village, both the gb This belonging
The borrower
workers

and

the

borrowers

because

are

that women

acknowledge

in the programme

accepted

of the "positional

vulner

the amount

receives

the loan

repay

in society. The positional

ability" of rural women
vulnerability
is understood
of rural women
and often explained
by inform

the loan amount

ants

every week,

in relation

culturally

to women's

patterned

limited

behaviour

physical

and

mobility
and

(shy, passive,

to their

submissive).

The informantsof this study rarelymentioned women's self

employment and empowerment as the objective of lending to
poor women.

He

a bank

Mafiz,

quoted

worker

who

said

that,

"women in the village are easily traceable. They regularly

attend more

than men.

group meetings

are more

Women

relia

(Rahman 1999:74).
Rahman furthernoted that themale bank workers made up
91% of the totalworkers involved in the field level operations of
thebank. At the timeofhis research all the eightmanagers under
office were

officers were
bank

also men.
were

workers

workers

were

ments".

The manager

workers
collection

be

He

male

also

study

as

of instalments"

that nine
branch.

"less effective

of the branch

stated

rigid as men
(Rahman

and

manager

found

in the

of being

accused

cannot

the area

men,

1999:

in collecting

to him,

workers
84).

of the twelve

when

"women

comes

bank

it comes

to

and

every month
or at least

a defaulter,

returns

than 20%

repayment

regularly
a break,

every year without

remain

to the repayment

equal

standard

on
for

if any

But

sickness.

and

the reality

in economics,
would

everything
No

years.

natural

s/he be

other

these

that,
things

favourable

be

disaster,

not favour

does

amount,

It is assumed

effect.

practice

the same, meaning

months

a chain

has

which

as

cateris paribus,

for

no accident,

no
The

assumptions.

furtherhidden assumption is that the property relations,power

and market

structure,
been

proved

all

processes

completely

favour

For

wrong.

every

has

the poor, which

breakdown

of

the

model with wrong assumptions the borrower faces helpless un

to take new

are compelled

are

therefore,

Defaulters,

certainty.

on

loans

the rise among

the poor

sources

at higher

from other

interest rates.

In Bangladesh we often find the realitydifferentand bitter.

bank
instal

to maintain

to
20

interest of around

with

Since more

in average.

is essential

10%) and has

(about

savings,

instalments

thinghappens to break the payment or if the borrower cannot

earn more

who

programme
Female

of the total

weeks,

ble and are more disciplined (passive/submissive) than men.

Working with women is easier than working with men"

the area

to 40%

some

minus

inweekly

in the lowest

Living

discrimination

der and

regional

difficult

examination,

or

natural

disaster

40 august

strata of a society
most
or

29, 2009

very few borrowers

of them

sickness

or

vol xliv no 35

This content downloaded from 119.148.3.126 on Fri, 6 Feb 2015 00:42:34 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

that is based

either
social
EEES

on class,

face market
odds.

gen

can pass
While

the

hostility
other

Economic& Politicalweekly

structural

factors

are kept

intact or are worsening,

to become

these poor people

expect

efficient

one

recovered

In 2007 thepeople in the coastal areas sufferedfroma deadly

attack of Sidr, thebiggest natural disaster since thewinning of
the Nobel Prize by the gb. That furtherexposed the coercive
side

of mc

where

and

south

pre-Sidr

to around

loans
12 billion

taka

in 12

conducted

in Bangladesh,

districts

south-western

outstanding

to some

amounted

study was

recent

One

operations.

Sidr affected

1.5 million

from 42 mc

instalments. Such intense pres

(ngos) for repayment of microcredit
sure led some of the Sidr-affected borrowers to sell out the reliefmate
rials they received from different sources. Such pressure for loan re
such as brac, asa and even the
covery came from large organisations
Nobel Prize winning organisation Grameen Bank.
Even themost severely affected people are expected to pay back in a
basis, with the prevailing interest rate. No system of "break" or
"holiday" period is available in the banks' current charter. No excep

weekly

tions are made

during a time of natural calamity. The harsh rules

lender organisations
led the disaster
practised by the microcredit
affected people even selling their relief assistance. Some even had to
to pay back theirweekly

instalments.

The study compiled the following facts from a focus group

with

discussion
21 October

a group

of mc

holders

at an

affected

area

on

2008.

- In
many cases reliefmaterials had tobe sold offtopay forcredit
instalments.

Many were forced to spend the governmentprovided housing

compensation
have
Many

package

of Taka

received

fresh

to repay

5,000
loans

their loans.

from some

ngos,

and

some other ngos.

Some ngos
launched

used

people...many

for work

programmes

that they were

complained

for the Sidr

forced

to hand

above

countries

over
credit

possessions,
(Pasha

Lamia
repayment

even

their

small

ornaments,

to pay

off the

et al 2008).

Karim,
and

in her

the helplessness

the process

observed

of rural women

of loan

in mc operations.

She observed,

health,

education,

to cows and chicks to trees that

of a woman)
"divorcing/widowing"
had been planted to be sold as timber to
collecting rice and grains that
the family had accumulated as food, very often
leaving the familywith
no food whatsoever. The women who committed these acts did so at

the exhortations of ngo officers, but they also considered these acts to
be "protecting their investments", and the
defaulting woman as some
one who had "broken faith with the
community". These acts were
committed with the full knowledge of ngo officers, but the officers did
in these collective acts of aggression.
Instead, they

not participate

Economic& Politicalweekly

GEE2

august

29, 2009

above

this limit, itwould

the mc world

leaving

be

behind"

too.

or climate,

environment

poverty,

to be owned

it needs

nity ownership:

by the poor

(2) commu
or disadvan

taged, and (3) non-profitdistribution: investorsmay not, after

having had their investmentspaid back, take profitsout of the
enterpriseas dividends (Yunus andWeber 2008). The listof joint
ventures

and other businesses

Grameen

of these

linked with

the Grameen

network

fail on all of these

enterprises

has become

Phone

the largest

source

of capital

fronts.
outflow

not only from the subscribers but also from the country.The
two joint ventures

are taking

the same path.

The Financial Times (6 December 2008) wrote about a recent

controversy

the mc

within

microfinance

world

where

Muhammad

such as Compartamos

lenders

Yunus

"as indistin

from the moneylenders".

But it is clear that the increas
of mc, the polarisation
of mc agencies,
the
nature of extraction
are all an obvious
outcome
of the

ing commercialisation
coercive

process itselfand the dynamics of the logicof capital.And in the

same process, gb itselfgave birth to highly profitablebusiness
businessmen,
investment
able has

in circumstances when the woman

failed to pay the sum, which hap
pened several times a month in the ngos I studied, the group members
would repossess the capital that the woman had built with her loans.
This ranged from taking away her gold nose-ring (a symbol of marital
status for rural women,
and removing it symbolically marks
the

world,

in Bangladesh

but

enterprises.
study, also

the

Muhammad Yunus likes to call all "his"businesses social and

defines them by three requirements: (1) social objectives, e g,

guishable
systematic

to assess

village

(bb 2006:.52). But in reality that ishappening, not only in other

owed in the pre-disaster

period.
In some cases
the women
borrowers

harassment by the field staff of the lending organisations.

Some complained that theywere forced to give out their left

Bilkis's

If it goes

the moneylenders'

entering

opposed

to face

around

rate.

the commercial

over themoney to somemc lendingorganisations towhich they

had

the area

toured

Supplementary, Not Alternative

Muhammad Yunus once stated, "Asa thumbrule Iwould say that
an mcb should trytokeep the interestratewithin 5 to 10% points

other
cash

debt of Tk 80,000."

damage, told the news agency that cancelling outstanding debt

was impossible (Pasha et al 2008).

show us that most

significantportion of it to pay for theirprevious loans owed to

affected

who

Yunus,

lost almost everything in the cyclone, experienced

harassment
from non-governmental
organisations

sell their leftover belongings

of her outstanding

But despite the severe conditions faced by cyclone survivors,

Sidr victims who

and

the defaulted money was

future loans unless

(Karim 2008).

The study conducted in Sidr-affectedareas narrated the story

of Bilkis,who "survived the cyclone-powered tidalwave that
engulfed thevillage by climbing a tree and isnow strugglingto
find food forher family.With nothing leftbut the clothes she
stands up in, she knows she will be unable to keep up the
payments

people

organisations.

The studyobserved,
pressure

towithhold

threatened

cannot

entrepreneurs.

The

Yunus
and

turned

into
an

became

in Bangladesh.

one

advocate

The

number

of

the world's
for foreign

of the poor

leading
corporate

and vulner

increased.

gb's

spectacular

success

as a bank

in a new

form must

be

acknowledged. Butwhere shouldwe locate itssuccess? Certainly

not in poverty alleviation. Its success lies in creating
profitsby
integrating the poor into the market. Yunus (1998) himself
cleared

his position

elsewhere:

I believe

that 'government', as we know it today, should

pull out of
things except for law enforcement and justice, national defence
and foreign policy, and let the private sector, a 'Grameenised
private
sector', a social-consciousness-driven
private sector, takeover their
other functions.

most

But we

already

know

that

the Grameenised

private

sector

has not brought about anything different except

misleading

vol xliv no 35
41

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

people with some rhetoric like "social business". This

position goes well with neoliberal ideology and the dominant
development paradigm that produce and reproduce poverty
for many,
people's

and
lives

affluence
to

ensure

for the
and

few,

that destroy

maximise

NOTES
1
2
3

Doug Henwood, preface inChowdhury (2007).

Grameen Bank official inRahman (1999).
For analysis of context, growth, polarisation,
retreat, success, failure and political significance
of NGO model, see Anu Muhammad
(2000):
Development Crisis and NGO model inBangladesh
(in Bangla).
Microcredit providing agencies remained outside
any formal supervisory or monitoring system in
Bangladesh until 27 August 2006. Only in 2000,
the government formed "Microfinance Research
and Reference Unit (MRRU)" to formulate guide
lines and suggest a regulatory framework for
this sector. The government passed the law in
July 2006 under the title "Microfinance Regula
toryAuthorityAct 2006" which became effective
from 27 August 2006. According to the law all
active microfinance institutions should apply for
licence from the authority within six months.
The formerMRRU has been transformed into the
secretariatof theMicrocredit RegulatoryAuthority.
Bangladesh Bank has been providing support to
theAuthority to attain its full institutional shape
(BB 2007: 71)
The company's total revenue earning was around
Tk 54.44 billion in2007. The CEO ofGP at a press
conference said that the GP's net profit had
increased toTk 3.20 billion in 2008 fromaround
Tk 1.30 billion in 2007. The number of SIMs sub
scriptionhad increased by 4.5 million in 2008 to
21million (NewAge, 12February 2009).
I analysed this "development" experience that
makes a path "fromMills toMalls" inmy article,
"Globalisation and transformation of peripheral
economy: The Bangladesh experience" (Muham
mad 2006a).
Grameen Bank provides colour-coded stars to
branches and staff for 100% achievement of a
specific task. A branch (or a staff) having five
stars indicate thehighest level of performance. At
the end of June 2008, branches showed the
following result.
1,872 branches, out of total 2,517 branches, re
ceived stars (green) formaintaining 100% repay
ment record. 2,049 branches received stars (blue)
for earning profit. (Grameen Bank as a whole
earns profitbecause the total profitof the profit
earning branches exceeds the total loss of the

loss-incurringbranches.)
1,757branches earned stars (violet) bymeeting all
theirfinancingout of theirearned income and de
posits. These branches not only carry out their
business with theirown funds,but also contribute
their surpluses tomeet the fund requirement of
deficitbranches.
346 branches have applied for stars (brown) for
ensuring education for 100% of the children of
Grameen families. After the completion of the
verification processes their stars will be con
firmed.Fiftysevenbranches have applied forstars
(red) indicating branches those have succeeded
in taking all itsborrowers' families (usually 3,000
families per branch) over thepoverty line.
The starwill be confirmedonly after the verifica
tionprocedure iscompleted. Each month branch
es are coming closer to achieving new stars.
Grameen staff look forward to transforming all
the branches of Grameen Bank into five star
branches (GB 2009).

nature

corporate

and
profit.

Bangladesh,
of

this

nature

in the name
taken
ment

the pioneer
and
of an

of mc,

direction

itself stands
of

alternative,

as

a clear

the mc machine

on the role of a supplementary

proof

Therefore,

"development".9

in fact has

to the dominant

develop

paradigm.

Public and hidden transcripts present two faces

of culture: (1) theofficialviews - societal or insti
tutional representation;and (2) individuals'views
constructed in the sociocultural and economic
relations with the "other"...According to Scott,
the hidden transcript inmost cases, represents a
critique of power spoken behind the back of the
dominant (Rahman 1999). Also see Scott (1985).

For analysis of Bangladesh experience of "devel

opment" including "poverty reduction" exercises,
see Muhammad Karim, Lamia (2008): "Demysti
Micro-Credit: The Grameen Bank, NGOs, and
fying
Neoliberalism inBangladesh", Cultural Dynamics,
20(1) (USA: University ofOregon), 2007.

REFERENCES
Ahmed, Q K (2007): Some Findings onMicrocredit at
Micro Level: Socio-Economic and Indebtedness
Related Impact of Microcredit in Bangladesh,
Dhaka.
Bateman, Milford (2008): "Microfinance's 'Iron Law'
- Local Economies Reduced to
Poverty",Financial
Times, 20 December.
BB (2006): Papers and Proceedings of theSaarc Finance
Governor's Symposium on Microcredit (Dhaka:
Bangladesh Bank), 15-16February.
(2007): Bangladesh Bank Annual Report 2006-07,
Dhaka.
Chowdhury, Farooque, ed. (2007): MicrocreditMyth
Manufactured, Dhaka, October.
David, J Lewis (1994): "Catalyst forChange? NGOs,
Agricultural Technology and the State inBangla
desh", The Journal ofSocial Studies, No 65.

Econ, J U (1996, 2004, 2007): "Department of Eco

nomics: 'Grameeen Bank, Microcredit and Pover
ty scenario in Bangladeshi Villages", Field study
Reports (Dhaka: Jahangirnagar University).
Grameen Bank (2009): http://www.grameeninfo.
org/ index.php?option =com_content&task=
view &id= 26 &Itemid=o
Harford, Tim (2008): "The Battle for the Soul of
Microfinance", Financial Times, 6 December.
Khandakar, Muzharul Haque (2006): "Microfinance
in Bangladesh: Major Achievements and New
Challenges" in (BB 2006).

of Social Sciences invitesapplicationsin the

Tata Institute
Schools and
prescribedformfortheposts in the following
Centres:
A) School ofManagementand LabourStudies,Mumbai
Campus.
B) School ofSocialWork,MumbaiCampus.
C) School ofSocial Sciences, MumbaiCampus.
D) School ofHealthSystemsStudies,MumbaiCampus.

E) School ofHabitatStudies,MumbaiCampus.
F) School ofRuralDevelopment,RuralCampus,Tuljapur,
Dist.Osmanabad.

Media andCulturalStudies,MumbaiCampus.
G) Centre for
Tata CentreforDisasterManagement,Mumbai
H) Jamsetji
Campus.
42 august

29, 2009

Khandker, Shahidur R (1998): Fighting Povertywith

Micro-credit: Experience inBangladesh (New York:
Oxford University Press).
Muhammad, Anu (2000): Unnoyon Sangkot Ebong
NGO Model (Development Crisis and NGO Model in
Bangladesh), Dhaka, 2nd edition.
(2006): "Monga, Microcredit and theNobel Prize"
in http://www.countercurrents.org/gl-muham
mad041206.htm
(2006a): "Globalisation and Transformation of
Peripheral Economy: The Bangladesh Experi
ence", Economic & Political Weekly, Mumbai,
15-21April.
(2007): Development or Destruction, Essays on
Global Hegemony, Corporate Grabbing and Bang
ladesh,Dhaka.
Osmany, S R (1989): "Limits to theAlleviation of Pov
erty through Non-farm Credit", The Bangladesh
Development Studies, Vol XVII, Dhaka.
Pasha, Kazi, Zaved Khalid et al (2008): "Post Disaster
Aid Effectiveness and Bangladesh's Ground
Reality" (Dhaka: Action Aid), December.
Rahman, Aminur (1999): Women and Microcredit in
Rural Bangladesh, Westview Press.
Rahman and Hossain, ed. (1995): Rethinking Rural
Poverty,Dhaka.

Rahman and Khandker, ed. (2000): "Microfinance

and Development", Special Issue, The Bangladesh
Development Studies, Vol XXVI, Dhaka.
Scott, James (1985): Weapons of theWeak: Everyday
Forms of Peasant Resistance, Yale University
Press.
(1990): Domination and theArt of Resistance:
Hidden Transcripts,Yale UniversityPress.
Todd, Helen (1996): Cloning Grameen Bank, London.

World Bank (1996): Agenda forAction, Dhaka Office.

Westerguard, Kirsten (1996): "Peoples Empowerment
in Bangladesh, NGO Strategies", The Journal of
Social Studies, No 72.
Yunus, Muhammad and A Jolis (1998): Banker to the
Poor, London.
Yunus, Muhammad (2006): "Microcredit: Banking
with the Poor without Collateral" inBB.
Yunus, Muhammad and K Weber (2008): Creating a
World Without Poverty: Social Business and the
Future ofCapitalism, New York.

OFPOST
NAME
Professor_2_10
Associate Professor
AssistantProfessor
NSS Programme
Coordinator_

TOTAL

SC ST OBC OPENTOTAL
5
4_2
3_0
0
0

0
5
0

2
6

12

9
1

17
1

I 9 I3 I 5 I 18 I 35 |

For furtherdetails regardingscale of pay, essential

qualifications, etc. and application form download,
visit the website www.tiss.edu Applicationto be sent
complete in all respect along with the application fee
ofRs.3007-byDemandDraftonly,on orbefore25.09.2009.
Dr. Neeia Dabir
No. Admn/Advt/Aug/2009
Date: August 14,2009
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